


Easy's Omega

by GGCharms



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alpha Babe Heffron, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, BAMF Doc Roe, Babe loves Doc Roe, Dike is creepy and possessive, Don't ever make the pack's Omega mad, Easy Company is a pack, Everyone is really supportive, Everyone loves Doc Roe, Follows the HBO series, Gene-centric, M/M, Multi, Oblivious Gene, Omega Eugene Roe, Protective Easy Company, Rating May Change, Sobel and Dike are assholes, Sobel is abusive, There may be some changes, Toccoa men are Alphas, but is super awkward about it, shameless flirting, small crushes on Doc, some replacements are Betas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2018-11-12 03:50:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 57,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11153634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GGCharms/pseuds/GGCharms
Summary: Omega Eugene Roe is assigned to be a medic to the 506th Infantry Regiment's only all Alpha company, Easy Company. Watch as he earns his place among them, becomes pack, and (unintentionally) finds his Alpha and a family.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> No disrespect is meant towards any of the real men of Easy Company. This is based off of the HBO series, plus my own mind. 
> 
> I've always wanted to read a story like this, but it kept replaying in my head, so I decided to write it myself. I hope you enjoy.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I will have to decline the offer.”

2nd Lieutenant Dick Winters resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his CO. They were currently standing in Colonel Sink’s office, the humid air of Georgia surrounding them, while the low hum of the fan barely drowned out the noise of the training going on outside.

Dick stood slightly behind Sobel, looking at the tiny dust particles floating in the sunlight. He took a moment to glance at Sink’s face, and what he saw almost made a smirk cross his face. The Colonel seemed just as annoyed at the Alpha as he did. 

“That wasn’t a suggestion, Lieutenant. You will be getting your medics tomorrow, and one of them will be an Omega.” 

Sobel stiffened at the order, his jaw clenched in what Dick could only describe as restrained anger.

“Permission to speak, sir.” 

Sink stared Sobel down, reminding the younger man who the Head Alpha really was, before speaking.

“Granted.”

Sobel looked at a point right above the Colonel’s head, beads of sweat rolling down his face, “With all due respect, sir, it’s bad enough with the Omega secretaries and nurses walking around the camp, but putting one of their kind directly into combat with the men will only distract them, and make them inadequate for battle,” he paused for a moment before saying, “Easy Company is the only all Alpha company in this regiment, my goal is to make them the best, sir.”

Sink leaned forward in his chair, letting his hands clasp together on top of the desk, “And I understand that, Lieutenant. That is my goal as well. That is why I am putting this particular Omega in your company. Out of all the medics currently training in the medical detachment, he is the best. He will get the job done.”

Sobel nodded, trying to show the the utmost respect for the Colonel, although his face looked like he swallowed something bitter. He gave a clean salute, and when it was returned, Sobel quickly turned on his heel, and walked out of the office.

Sink started to shuffle through his paperwork again, before he noticed that Dick still did not leave the room. 

“Is there something I can help you with, Lieutenant Winters?”

Dick swallowed and glanced down at the Colonel. He was staring at him intently, but not with the harsh look he gave Sobel.

“Permission to speak, sir.”

“Permission granted, son.”

“Sir,” Dick began, “I too am concerned about the Omega, but for a different reason than Lieutenant Sobel,” it was here that Dick took a moment to pause to choose his next words carefully, “In fact, I would say I’m concerned for the Omega.”

Sink dropped the paperwork back on the desk and leaned back in his chair.

“Continue.” he spoke with a gesture of his hand.

“Sir.” he said again, “This Omega will be surrounded by up to 140 Alphas a day, and I will not be able to keep an eye on him at all times.” He hoped he was making his point clear enough. He must have, though, because Sink pursed his lips and stood up to face the window.

“I hear what you and Lieutenant Sobel are trying to convey. Omegas are known to be flirtatious, distracting, soft, and weak.”

Something outside must have caught the Colonel’s eye, because he followed its movements closely. 

“Have you met the Omega yet, Lieutenant?”

“No, sir.” he admitted reluctantly.

Sink just smirked, and moved his head a bit to give Dick a view of the medical attachment running down Currahee, one in particular being in front.

“Well this one will surprise you, Lieutenant, in more ways than one.”

Dick couldn’t stop the little smile that crossed his face due to the older Alpha’s words. 

“Yes, sir.” 

“You are dismissed, Lieutenant.”

And with quick and proper salutes, Dick left the office of the Colonel.

Once outside, he put on his side cap, and looked to the side to see Nixon leaning against the wall waiting for him.

“So,” Nixon spoke as he pushed off the wall and started to walk with Dick, “is there a reason Sobel just came out of there looking more pissed off than usual?”

Dick could only smile as he looked at the different companies going through PT. As he looked around, he was able to spot the medical attachment at the obstacle course. 

“We’ll be getting our medics tomorrow.”

Nixon raised an eyebrow, “Well I know Sobel wants Easy Company to be the best, but even we need medics. I doubt that’s what really pissed him off.”

Finally, Dick was able to spot raven hair sprinting through the course, helping his fellow medics over walls, and picking them up when they fell down. He could only be compared to a gazelle, the way he jumped over beams, slid through the tunnels, and hopped through the ropes. So graceful. So beautiful.

“Dick?”

“One of them will be an Omega.”

Hearing those words caused Nixon to stop moving, and stand in front of Dick, hands on his chest to keep him from walking any further. 

“An Omega? In Easy Company? Are they out of their minds?”

Dick had yet to remove his gaze from the young Omega, causing Nixon to follow his gaze. When his eyes finally locked onto the Omega, all he could let out was a low whistle.

“That’s him?”

“Yep.”

“Jesus,” Nixon mumbled, and leaned a little to the side to get a better looked at the Private, “Maybe this war won’t be that bad.” 

Dick let out a little huff of laughter at his friend’s words, and gave him a humorous look, before looking back at the Omega. As if feeling eyes on him, the Omega turned around and locked his doe eyes with the two of them. His face showed nothing but indifference, but he also never looked away, as if accepting the stare as a challenge. 

Nixon found it adorable, and decided to wave at him. The Private’s lips curled in a barely noticeable sign of distaste, before turning around and going through the obstacle course again. 

Nixon chuckled at the sight and put his hand down, “Do you think he’ll survive being surrounded by 140 Alphas everyday?” 

“Apparently, this one will surprise us,” Dick repeated what the Colonel said to him while smiling fondly at the Omega. 

“Well, what’s his name?”

Dick watched as the medical detachment finished up at the course, and walk back to their barracks where they would shower, and probably head to medical training. The seven Omegas stood out from the rest of the Betas, but he was only interested in one of them. Dick didn’t know how, but he had a feeling the Omega would be an important addition to Easy, and his name was,

“Private Eugene Roe.”


	2. Currahee 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get a little background information on our favorite Omega, and Gene starts his first day serving with Easy Company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No disrespect is meant towards any of the real men of Easy Company. This is based off of the HBO series, plus my own mind.
> 
> Thank you guys sooooo much! I'm gonna be honest, I posted this story thinking that this fandom was pretty much dead, and that no one would read a story completely centered around Doc Roe! Boy was I wrong! Your comments made me so happy! I'm so glad you guys enjoyed, and I hope you continue to enjoy it!

During a hot, muggy, Georgia afternoon, a particular group of men stood outside their barracks waiting for their Lieutenant to arrive. To be more precise, they were Easy Company waiting for their CO, Lieutenant Sobel, and they’ve been waiting for almost two hours. 

To keep himself occupied, Gene has been staring at a fly that’s been buzzing in the faces of the men for almost the entire time they’ve been standing out there. He was actually surprised that no one moved to try and kill it. Although, he figured since they’ve been with Lieutenant Sobel for more than two months now, they know the usual drill. No one moves until the CO arrives. 

Most of them have sagged off a little bit, including Gene himself. Arms became looser, stance became more relaxed, and all anyone could really do was look out in the distance at the rest of the companies finishing up morning training, and getting lunch. 

However, Gene did feel several stares also being directed towards his ass, which he did not appreciate. If they were back in one of the bars in Louisiana, Gene would not hesitate to turn around and give them a look that said, “Fuck off.” (he was not really one to use words, but he’s been told his eyes could do all the talkin’ for him.)

But it was his first day in Easy, and he’s heard the stories about his new CO. Especially that he was not happy to have an Omega in his “all Alpha company”. Gene didn’t rightly know how he expected to accomplish that, since medics were Betas and Omegas only, but he guessed that Betas were just more acceptable than Omegas. 

So Gene, instead of turning around and givin’ those Alphas a cold glare, decided to face forward, keep his mouth shut, and his eyes on the fly. The less attention he drew to himself, the better. 

The fly hopped from soldier to soldier (guess not really soldiers yet, but they were getting there). Sometimes it landed on their clothes, most of the time it landed on some poor guys face. It even landed on his nose once. 

It finally came to rest on 2nd Lieutenant Nixon’s neck. Gene recognized him from the other day as being one of the two officers staring at him during training. He decided to forget about the matter since they were probably just seeing what their new medics would be like. And even if they weren’t, Alphas have stared at and said worse things to him since he’s been here. He had tough skin when it came to most Alphas, ever since he quit school and started working odd, heavy lifting jobs with them back home. He’s probably heard every line in the book to get him to go out with them. He wasn’t about to stop his ways now, just because there was a war going on. 

When Alphas at home heard that he was going to war, most of them were horrified by the though. Most people were still against the idea of Omegas volunteering, male or not, but it was put into the Selective Service Act, and there it would stay. However, accepting volunteering Omegas was a last resort, anyways and they were never put into infantry training. They were usually medics and jeep drivers. 

Still, the Alphas back home didn’t like the the idea of a “sweet Omega like himself” being so close to war. It damaged the reputation of Omegas being “soft” and “comforting”. Many Alphas offered to mate with him, since mated Omegas could not go to war. He gladly turned them down with a blank look and a, “No thanks.” 

Even now, with all the shit he gets with the Alphas during training, he would much rather be here, than back home taking care of pups. 

Gene watched as the fly continued to crawl up the 2nd Lieutenant’s neck, almost reaching his ear, before the officer raised his hand, and smacked it against his skin. The tiny movement must’ve been what Lieutenant Sobel has been waiting for, because not even seconds later, he came around the corner screaming at them.

“You people are at the position of attention!” 

Almost immediately, backs were straight, one arm pinned to their sides, the other one holding the strap of their guns. Gene was not carrying a gun, and neither were the other medics. They went through rifle training in the medical attachment, since, while they weren’t aloud to go to war with a weapon, they were aloud to defend themselves if the need arose. 

Gene watched as the Alpha walked down the line of men in quick strides, before finally finding his first prey.

“Private Perconte, have you been blousing your trousers over your boots like a paratrooper?”

“No, sir.”

“Then explain the creases at the bottom.”

The young Alpha paused.

“No excuse, sir.” 

“Volunteering for the parachute infantry is one thing, Perconte, but you’ve got a long way to prove you belong here. Your weekend pass is revoked.”

The Alpha private could only swallow and get back into the position of attention

Down the line the CO went. Gene stored a few names to memory, like Sergeant Lipton and Private Malarkey (“Malarkey’s slang for ‘bullshit’ isn’t it?”). 

“Name?”

“Liebgott, Joseph D., sir.”

The Lieutenant grabbed the Private’s bayonet and held it in his face.

“Rusty bayonet, Liebgott. You wanna kill Germans?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Not with this,” the Alpha CO expressed with a hit to the helmet. 

He started walking back up to the front, when he spotted Gene at the end of the line. Like a predator hunting his prey, the Alpha slowly stalked towards him. Gene couldn’t stop his heart pounding as the Lieutenant circled him, before finally stopped behind him. He leaned into Gene’s space, having his nose come close to his jet black hair. Gene could only stare forward and hold his breath as the Alpha sniffed the black locks. One hand came up and ghosted over the back of his neck. Not in a kind way, like a lover would. The Alpha was trying to instill fear into Gene’s mind, showing him who the Head Alpha was. 

Gene would not give in, though. 

Some of the others gave side glances to the strange display, but no one dared to move a muscle and disturb whatever the CO was trying to prove. 

Finally, the Alpha moved back to the front, letting Gene breath again.

The Lieutenant held up the bayonet to the men, “I wouldn’t take this rusty piece of shit to war, and I will not take you to war in your condition,” he threw the bayonet on the ground, “Now thanks to these men and their infractions, every man in the Company who had a weekend pass, has lost it.”

Faces stayed neutral, but the air was filled with disappointment. Gene was starting to this the Lieutenant liked the feeling.

The CO took a moment to take in the blank faces before saying, “Change into your PT gear, we’re running Currahee.”

The 2nd Lieutenant in charge of his platoon (Gene recognized him from the other day too) turned around.

“Second platoon, fallout, you have two minutes.”

As if someone took scissors and cut invisible strings on their bodies, the whole Company dropped their stiff positions and were running back to the barracks. Gene was one of the first ones back, and he quickly started to change to avoid as much leering as possible. He couldn’t avoid all of the looks, though, especially from one Private who had the name ‘Cobb’ written on his jacket. When Gene looked up to meet his gaze, he was met with a smirk and eyes moving up and down his body. Gene only curled his nose in a slight show of distaste before finishing to change. He then quickly walked out of the barracks to avoid any and all conversation with the others. 

He would save their lives when the time came, but that didn’t mean he had to be flirting with them. 

One by one, the Alphas starting to pour out of the barracks. Gene pushed himself into the middle to draw less attention to himself. One Alpha, if he remembered correctly, his name was Liebgott, was in front, leading the Company to the mountain. 

In front of him were men from another company, all Alphas. They were wearing their dress uniforms, and looked to be heading towards the mess hall and movies. When the heard noise behind them, they turned around and smirked.

“Ah, Easy Company. Hey, while you’re running, don’t worry. We’ll take your dames to the movies for ya.”

“Yeah good,” Liebgott shouted back, “they need some Omega company.”

One of the Alphas turned around to say something back, before noticing Gene. He smirked, “Doesn’t look like you fellas need any,” he gave a wave in Gene’s direction, “Hey there, sweetcheeks, whatcha doing hanging out with a company like Easy?”

The words caused his friends to notice, and soon they were all flirting with him.

“Come on, darling, how about you come see a film with us?”

“We’ll be real sweet with ya.”

“We’ll treat you right.”

“We know how your type likes it.”

With each word spoken, Gene clenched his jaw in anger and embarrassment. It’s only been his first day with Easy Company, and he was already being singled out. 

“You boys better learn some fuckin’ manners before a shove my fuckin’ foot up your asses,” shouted a loud Phillie accent from behind Gene. He took a chance to look to see who it was, and came across an Alpha with a strong jaw. The Alpha caught his eyes and winked. Gene ignored it, and continued to walk.

“What’d you fucking say to us?” one of the men shouted back, but instead of responding, the Alphas in the front just started to run, knocking off their hats as they went. Gene started to run, too, and soon they were at the bottom of Currahee.

Gene was happy to start running up the mountain. It was a lot of work, yes, but usually people were too tired to start a conversation with him. He thought he was off the hook, until he helt a new presence to the right of him. Looking to the side, Gene came face to face with a young Alpha wearing a goofy smile.

“Hiya, sweetcheeks. Whatcha doing running on such a nice day like this one?”

Gene knew it was a joke, but he didn’t have it in himself to laugh, even if it was out of pity. The Alpha, though, did not take that as a sign to go away.

“Name’s Luz, George Luz.” he stuck his hand out to the side for a handshake. Gene took the hand for a second, before immediately dropping it as if it was a hot potato. He continued to run in silence.

Luz frowned at this, “Come on, now. When someone introduces himself, it’s only polite to introduce yourself back.”

Gene gave him a sideways glance. The hopeful smile on the young Alpha’s face caused Gene’s facade to break a little. 

“Eugene Roe.”

Luz smiled a stupid, toothy grin, “See, that wasn’t so hard! Hey, I was thinking, once we get our  
weekend passes, how about you and I-”

“Private Luz,” came the kind voice of Lieutenant Winters, “get back into formation.”

“Yes, sir.” shouted Luz as he started to run ahead. Before he made it too far, though, he looked back at Gene and mouthed “Later.”

Gene smiled when a huge Alpha with curly blonde hair smacked Luz in the back of the head. He was, nevertheless, fortunate that Lieutenant Winters cut in when he did. No matter how nice the Alpha seemed, Gene was not there to go out with any of them. He was there to serve his country.

It wasn’t too long after they started their run that Lieutenant Sobel started yelling at them.

“What do we run?”

“Currahee!”

“What does Currahee mean?”

“We stand alone!”

“How far up? How far down?”

“Three miles up! Three miles down!”

“And what company is this?”

“Easy Company!”

“And what do we do?”

“We stand alone!”

The whole way up they were shouting chants. Gene shouted with them, but not nearly as loud as some of the men. 

The run was long, like it always was, but it wasn’t like it was Gene’s first time running it, so he was able to keep a good pace, and keep up with the other men the entire way.

One man got a cramp halfway through, and Gene was tempted to break formation to help him. He became infuriated at the Lieutenant when he told them not to help him. That was his job. Nonetheless, he kept running, until the road became so narrow, they had to break formation. From then on, it was a race to the top, and then to the bottom. Gene always got a burst of adrenaline whenever he got close to the top. He didn’t know where it came from, but he’s always been glad to have it. 

He was one of the first ones to the top, grateful for Lieutenant Winter’s encouraging words. However, when he touched the plaque, he made eye contact with the CO. What he saw was nothing short of loathing. 

“You’re gonna have to do better than that, Omega, if you want to serve in the paratroopers.”

Gene could only mutter a quick, “Yes, sir,” before heading back down the mountain.

Behind him, he heard, ‘We are coming on 23 minutes! That may be good enough for the rest of the 506, but that is not good enough for Easy Company!”

Gene had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

It seemed like it was going to be a long war with Lieutenant Sobel and the Alphas of Easy Company.


	3. Currahee 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More training, Sobel is really abusive, Gene tries to push on, and, unbeknownst to him, the pack is forming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No disrespect is meant towards any of the real men of Easy Company. This is based off of the HBO series, plus my own mind.
> 
> So it's here where we get some plot changes, but it's mostly just things added to the plot.
> 
> Guys, your feedback is honestly amazing! It makes me so happy to see a new comment, kudo, subscription, or bookmark. It makes writing this so worth it (even though I've been having tons of fun writing it since day one haha). I hope you continue to enjoy!

After the first day, things did change, but not for the better. The training got a lot tougher, and it wasn’t too long before they were running up Currahee in full, combat uniforms instead of PT gear. Gene still did not talk much around the others, and it seemed every day Lieutenant Sobel became harder and harder on him. 

One day, the CO made Gene run the mountain a second time all by himself.

He remembered being in full combat gear, like everyone else was. However, instead of carrying guns, he and the other medics, Oats and Pepping, carried a pouch that was slung across their shoulders with a Litter Carrying strap. The only other thing that made them stand out was the Red Cross badge strapped on their left arm. Other than that, they were all pretty much in the same boat as the others. 

It was especially humid that day, so much so, that it felt like the air itself was pressing down on them, and it took twice as many breaths to get pure air in their lungs. Sweat poured down their faces like waterfalls, and their jackets only trapped the heat in. 

The relief on the men’s faces when they reached the bottom of the mountain could be seen from miles away. It was supposed to be the last thing they had to do, and everyone was looking forward to a shower, dinner, and then sleep. Sobel had been especially cruel that day, and they were the only company still out training. 

Gene looked around and saw most of the Alphas hunched over, trying to catch their breaths. He himself was in the same position. He may be from a swamp, but he normally wore short sleeve shirts, not a thick, olive green jacket.

When Lieutenant Winters shouted, “Easy Company, fall in,” an audible groan spread throughout the men. 

“Can’t they fucking give us a break?” Gene heard the undeniable voice of Warren ‘Skip’ Muck complain. 

“They could,” this time the voice was Donald Malarkey, “but think of it this way. Penkala now has more time to stare at his favorite medic.”

“Shut up, you guys.” Penkala whispered harshly.

“Yeah,” answered Muck, as if he didn’t even hear Penkala, “but I’m sure he’d rather talk to the dame in the mess hall, or, better yet, the showers.” Gene could only imagine the look Muck was giving Penkala, and he rolled his eyes. Alphas really only had one thing on their minds at all times.

“I said, shut your traps, guys!” Penkala’s panicked whisper was quickly followed by what sounded like a punch to an arm. Gene looked back, only to see Malarkey laughing hysterically, while Muck was trying to avoid Penkala’s half-hearted swings. 

When Penkala caught Gene staring with a raised eyebrow, his face immediately turned beet red. He quickly tried to right himself, and act like the display never happened, but it was hard when his two friends were not even trying to conceal their laughter. Gene just shook his head, and walked to his position. 

The First Lieutenant stood in front of the men wearing his leather jacket, and a scrutinizing glare. No man dared to even look in his direction, for fear that they would draw his attention over to themselves, and get ridiculed on imaginary infractions.

Gene was not particularly worried, since the worst the CO has done to him so far was sniff his hair, grasp his neck in dominance, and call him out while running. The last one wasn’t even that bad, because Lieutenant Sobel called everyone out during training. 

Instead of pacing through the rows of men like he usually would, the CO seemed content to just stare at them while nudging two, giant sandbags with this foot. The men stood at attention in silence for five minutes as the strict Alpha scanned his eyes over them, until, finally, they settled on Gene.

“Lieutenant Winters, I want the Omega standing in front of me.”

Gene noticed how the kinder Alpha seemed to pause before addressing him, “Private Roe, stand front and center for the CO.”

Gene carefully made his way to the front of the company, feeling sympathetic gazes as he moved along. While the Alphas may have felt bad for him, he could tell they were just as relieved to not be getting the attention of the Lieutenant. 

When Gene made it to the front of Easy, he immediately fell into a nearly perfect position of attention for the Alpha. He still did not dare to look directly at him, but he could feel the powerful gaze of the CO looking down on him. 

“Omega,” he was never called anything else by the man, “do you know what this is?”

Gene looked down at the foot nudging the two sandbags.

“Sandbags, sir.”

“That is incorrect, Omega, your weekend pass is revoked. This is a wounded man,” he flipped one of the bags over with his foot. Gene watched as it flopped in the dirt, and dust exploded into the air, “to get to the Aid Station, you must go up and down a mountain,” Gene watched as the Alpha pointed to the top of Currahee. He didn’t need anymore explaining. He already figured out what the man was going to ask of him.

“You have 45 minutes to get this man to the Aid Station, and come back to report to me.

Gene could still feel the intense burning in his lungs and weak legs from the run they just finished five minutes ago. However, he knew that he could not escape a direct order from the CO, and that no one else had the power to either. 

“Yes, sir.”

Sobel continued to stare at him, inches away from his face, “If you are not down that mountain and in front of me in 45 minutes, then you will be punished. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well then, what are you waiting for?”

Gene swallowed and bent down to grab the sandbags. Each weighed about 75 pounds, so both on one shoulder was like carrying a 150 pound man. When he felt he had them both fairly situated on his shoulder, he took off running to Currahee. Behind him, he heard the Lieutenant giving orders to the rest of Easy.

“To make sure no one finds the need to help the Omega, you will all stand at attention until he returns. If he is late, then you will all lose your weekend passes.”

Gene bit the inside of his cheek in anger. It was already hard enough being the only Omega in Easy, but Sobel made it his job to put a bigger rift between him and the other men. Everyday, Gene could see the bonds being made between the men, encouraging each other and giving them strength. It was a pack forming, and Gene felt completely out of it. He couldn’t place all of the blame on Sobel, either. Gene was pushing them away, not because they were Alphas, but because he was their medic. When the time came, and he couldn’t save them, it would be easier to say goodbye to a soldier, rather than a friend. They made it pretty easy to push them away, though. Most of them treated Gene like he was a delicate flower. The rest treated him like he was some sort of ‘call-omega’, and a few pretty words would let himself be dragged to the back of the barracks for a smooch and a quicky. But that only gave Gene the strength to go on. He would show all of them that despite being an Omega, he was still strong enough to save their lives.

So he pushed himself to the top, reciting his Grand-Mère’s favorite pray over and over in his head. In English and in French. Sometimes, even backwards. 

He thought about back home. How his poor, Beta Mama tried to stop him from signing up. How his little Beta brothers, and older Beta sister cried their eyes out when he left. How his older Alpha sister touched foreheads with him, grasped the back of his neck in a loving embrace, and told him to be safe. He remembered visiting his Pa’s grave before he left, asking for protection, and then going to his Grand-Mère’s house for last minute Omega comfort as he poured his heart out on all of his fears of war. 

He remembered the Alphas who didn’t believe he could do it, and the Omegas who knew he could. 

He had a lot riding riding on becoming a paratrooper to not only give his family more money, but to prove that even an Omega could serve with the best.

He never once stopped to catch his breath, or readjust the sandbags. At times, he felt his body ready to collapse, but he just had to picture the shock on Sobel’s face when he made it, and he was able to keep running. He knew he was making better time than he ever had before, and that he had a pretty good chance of making it down in time. 

By the time he cleared the trees that signaled the end of the mountain, Gene was running so low to the ground, he was almost crawling. When he saw the row of men watching him in the distance, he tried his best to straighten up, but each step felt like it would be his last. When he saw Lieutenant Winter’s encouraging look while holding the stopwatch, Gene knew he was close to meeting the goal. So, with the last of his strength, Gene started sprinting towards the company.

When he made it in front of Sobel, he dropped the sandbags, and stood at attention, breathing heavily through his nose. He felt the harsh gaze of the Alpha looking him up and down, as well as the eyes of everyone else. 

“Lieutenant Winters, time,” Sobel ordered without even looking away from Gene.

“45 minutes, sir,” Winters responded, and Gene felt like letting out a sigh of relief. 

However, the stricter Alpha was not letting up, “The exact time, Lieutenant.”

Lieutenant Winters seemed to pause, almost showing hesitation, which worried Gene.

“45 minutes, 0 seconds, and 359 milliseconds, sir.”

Gene could practically hear the smirk slide across the CO’s face, but it was soon replaced by the Alpha’s usual scowl. 

“Omega, you are late reporting back to me. As a result, the entire company has lost their weekend passes.”

Gene felt his heart sink. He could handle getting his own weekend passes taken away, but he didn’t want to be the reason the others had to stay in. He couldn’t even look at their faces, knowing that he’d probably see some form of hate or disdain. 

“Furthermore, because it seems you lack the physical capabilities of a paratrooper, it seems I am not pushing you hard enough,” with those words, he turned around to face the rest of the company, “which means I am not pushing any of you hard enough. So, instead of dinner, Easy will move their twelve mile march tonight.”

Gene’s head snapped over to look at the CO. The men were exhausted, and were in no condition for a twelve mile hike in the dark with over 50 pounds weighing them down. He knew he had to try and say something.

“Sir, the others are perfectly fit, sir. It is my own fau-” his sentence was interrupted by a quick strike to the face.

The hit was so hard, it knocked Gene back a few steps. His eyes were wide with shock. He could already feel the bruise start to form, and his eye swell. Blood dripped down his cheek, and Gene could tell he might need stitches. 

When he finally looked up, he saw Sobel using a handkerchief to wipe the blood off the ring on his finger. When they made eye contact, Sobel stalked over to him until they were face to face. He brought his hand up to grasp Gene’s neck in a tight choke hold, strong enough to leave a mark. His fingers tightened around his jaw, making Gene make eye contact with him. What he saw was something dark and dangerous.

“You did not ask for permission to speak, Omega,” he punctuated the last word with rough a shake of Gene’s head. 

Gene thought he heard soft growls from the men, but he was pretty sure that was just his mind playing tricks on him . That, and he couldn’t really hear anything over the sound of his heart beat. 

“You do not interrupt a superior officer, and you especially do not interrupt the Head Alpha.”

The last section of the sentence almost made Gene laugh. Sobel did not have even half of the respect of the men to even be considered the Head Alpha of a pack. If anyone was eligible for the job, it was most likely Lieutenant Winters. The fact that Sobel self-appointed himself almost seemed like a joke. He was sure it would be funny to look back on later, but at the moment, he was more worried about the hand tightening around his neck. 

“Yes, sir.” he got out with some strain. Sobel accepted the response, and moved his hand from Gene’s neck, to carefully brush over the cut on his cheek.

“Who is your Head Alpha, Omega?” 

Just hearing the question caused a rock to fall in the pit of his stomach. No sane Alpha would ever force a claim such as Head Alpha on an unwanting Omega. But there was Sobel, making Gene admit the power the he had over him. It was a sick feeling that twisted in his gut. But he had to say it.

“You are, sir.” the words barely came out over a whisper. Apparently, that wasn’t good enough the CO as he dug his thumb into the cut.

“I don’t believe you, who is your Head Alpha.”

“You are, sir!” he shouted to stop the pain, and the humiliation. He didn’t want to be, but he was slightly afraid at the moment. Enough for it to seep into his scent. He could tell by the way Sobel breathed in deeply that he noticed it too, and that he liked it.

They held awkward eye contact for a few seconds, but to Gene it felt like hours. Finally, the CO backed away from his personal space, and looked him up and down.

Satisfied with what he saw, the Lieutenant spoke.

“Back to your position, Omega.”

Gene briskly walked back to his spot, feeling the eyes of every man in the company on him. It was humiliating and degrading. 

On his way back to his position, he looked up once to only see the face of Penkala. The Alpha looked pissed beyond belief, and Gene couldn’t help but think it was directed towards him. 

What he didn’t realize, however, was how the gaze softened when it looked upon the Cajun medic.

When Gene was able to settle into his spot, Sobel looked upon the company.

“Lieutenant Winters,” he spoke with authority after a period of silence, “you will lead the men in their twelve mile march, and make sure no one touches their canteen.”

“Yes, sir.” said the 2nd Lieutenant in a tight voice that showed his frustrations. He then turned around in his position to speak directly to the men of Easy.

“Easy Company, fallout.”

With those words, the men silently made their way towards the trail that started the march. 

Even though Sobel was not among them, the men chose to stay silent for most of the march. Gene was grateful for it, since he didn’t think he could bare to talk to anyone at the moment. Once in awhile, Gene would bring a hand up to rub at this throbbing cheek, but besides receiving a few looks from the Alphas around him, no one tried to interact with him. 

It didn’t take long before the sun melted under the sky line, and a cloudy, pitch black sky was out to replace it. 

Whenever Gene heard a growling stomach, smacking, parched lips, or a groan in pain, new guilt was added onto the weight of the already existing shame sitting on his chest. 

He couldn’t even fake a smile when Lieutenant Winter’s made a joke about Lieutenant Sobel hating only Private Randleman, especially when he heard two unknown soldiers talking about him behind him.

“I bet Sobel loves the Omega.”

“Shut up.” 

“No, I’m serious. I bet what happened earlier was just some weird way to claim him.”

“You’re out of your goddamn mind, but I guess that’s one way to do it.” 

Gene was sure if anyone said anything like that a week ago, he would turn around and give them the coldest glare he could muster. But after everything that happened that night, all Gene wanted to do was forget the entire experience. So he marched on, the only thing keeping him going was the thought of his bed when it was all over. 

By the time they made it to the end, Gene could tell they were late by the look the CO was giving them. 

“Lieutenant Winters, I want canteens out of belts with the caps unscrewed.”

“Easy Company, canteens out and open.”

“On my command, they will pour the contents onto the ground.”

“On the CO’s orders, you will upend your canteen.”

“Now, Lieutenant.”

“Pour them!”

Gene watched as his precious water was dumped on the ground. It felt like he was draining the last bit of his strength as the dry ground soaked up the liquid. 

He heard Private Christensen get chewed out by Sobel for his half empty canteen, but he was so exhausted and loaded with guilt as it was, he couldn’t find the energy to care when he was assigned to repeat the march. He did notice, however, the difference between when an Alpha disobeyed an order, and when he disobeyed an order. He wasn’t surprised in the least bit the difference in treatment, though. It wasn’t like he could do anything about it anyways.

He was more than grateful when they were finally dismissed. No one even headed towards the direction of the showers. They would all rather be in bed at this point. 

When Gene walked into the sleeping quarters, everyone was mostly in there changing out of their combat gear. Gene tried making a beeline towards his bed to do the same, when he was stopped by one of the two Beta medics, Oats.

“Hey, Gene, how about I look at that cut for you?”

Gene stared in Oats eyes, and saw the worry. However, he also saw pity, and he wasn’t one to accept pity. 

“No thanks,” he responded hollowly, “I can take care of it.”

He pushed past Oats, and came close to his bed, when a taller Alpha stepped out in front of him. He looked up, only to come face to face with Sergeant Lipton. 

“I really think you should get that checked out, Private.”

Gene knew he should’ve taken the sentence as an order, but at the moment, he was so sick of Alphas telling him what to do. He was about to slide past the Sergeant, when he felt a strong hand clasp around his shoulder. Another hand slapped itself on his other shoulder, and he found himself being steered back to Oats by none other than Bill Guarnere and Joe Toye themselves. 

He was pushed onto a bed opposite of Oats, and because he knew he would just keep getting dragged there if he didn’t get his cheek checked out, he decided to stay still. 

Oats made quick work of the cut. He examined it, cleaned it, and then examined it again.

“Well, Gene, it seems it closed up by itself. The good news is, you don’t need stitches, but, uh,” the medic paused and looked away from Gene, “it will definitely scar, Gene.”

Gene only stared back blankly, “I know, that was the point, wasn’t it?”

The words caused a shock look to spread across the other medic’s face, and for grimaces to form on everyone else’s. The Alphas knew what kind of mark that was. It was something that would tie Gene to Sobel forever. It definitely wasn’t as powerful as a mating mark, or even a pack mark. It was just something that was possessive, dirty, and downright cruel to leave on an Omega’s skin. 

Gene didn’t really want to think about it, though. All he wanted was to go to bed, and forget the day ever happened. Even if the scar would ensure he wouldn’t for the rest of his life.

So he pat Oat’s thigh in thanks, and silently made his way back to his own bed. No one stopped him that time, either. He quickly changed out of his combat uniform, and had his head on the pillow and eyes closed before Lieutenant Winters even came in to say, “Lights out.”

He was almost sound asleep, barely in the world of conscientious, when he started to hear voices around him. 

“I can’t believe Sobel did that.”

“Shh, for all you know he’s outside the barracks listening in!”

“I knew Sobel was crazy, but that was just…”

“Why do we care, anyways?”

“Shut up, you know why we care. It’s been forming since day one.”

“He doesn’t even act like a normal Omega, I wonder how he got in it.”

“It doesn’t matter how the Omega acts, the point is, he’s it!” 

“He’s what?”

“Haven’t you been listening? The pack’s Omega!” 

“Well now he has Sobel on his tail, what are we supposed to do about that?”

“Just keep an eye on him, I guess.”

Silence, and then,

“I’m sure Penkala would love to keep an eye on him.”

“Shut up!”

Gene felt himself smile before he fell asleep.

In the morning, he would think it was a dream.


	4. Currahee 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick's POV, we get through some of the middle stuff, Gene gets his well-earned nickname, Sobel's still an ass, and the men finally earn their jump wings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No disrespect is meant towards any of the real men of Easy Company. This is based off of the HBO series, plus my own mind.
> 
> Sorry this took longer, I at least wanted to make it to where the men got their jump wings so we could move this story along. This chapter is a mixture of the book and the series, especially at the end. I am mostly going off of the series, though, the book just helps sometimes. There is one line directly from the book. I italicized it, though. 
> 
> All of your feedback means so much to me. I swear, each and every comment, kudo, bookmark, and subscription just make my day so much better. You guys are the greatest readers, and I'm so glad you're liking the story! I also love how much you guys hate Sobel now, hahaha, I didn't think I'd get that strong of a reaction. 
> 
> This chapter is a little different from the others, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

_Plop_

Dick looked down at his tray to see the standard slop that was served every morning at breakfast. It was gray, bland, and looked like cub puke served on dry toast. However, he wasn’t one to be choosy, and he’s gotten used to eating it anyways. He was just thankful they served coffee to wash it down with.

Others seemed to feel the same way, since he didn’t hear any complaints coming from the men in the mess hall that day. It was finally the weekend, and everyone was just happy to do some light work, and leave the camp if they were aloud.

It wasn’t like that was an option for Easy Company, but Dick was just glad to have a break from Sobel. He also got the chance to finally catch up on recent events with Nixon.

“After ordering Christenson to perform the march again, he asked me to find six men with infractions, and have their disciplinary recommendations on his desk by 0130, not even caring if infractions didn’t even exist.”

“So, what did you do?” Nixon asked while taking the first available table he could find.

Dick, who was not far behind, took the seat opposite of him.

“Picked six men and gave them latrine duty.”

“The lucky six?”

“McDonald, Toye, Perconte, Lipton, Muck, and Guarnere.”

“Why them?”

“It was their turn.” Dick said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Nixon gave a little laugh at the absurdness of it all, but Dick could tell that he wasn’t shocked by the strange order.

“Sobel’s a genius,” he spoke with a shake of his head, “I had a headmaster just like him in prep school; I know the type.”

“Lewis, Michelangelo’s a genius, Beethoven’s a genius,” Sobel was not a genius. He was an Alpha with a horrible superiority complex, and a terrible sense of direction to match. Not to mention his ego, lies, and abusive habits.

Nixon, however, already took all of that into consideration.

“You know a man, Alpha or not, in this company who wouldn’t double-time Currahee with a full-pack, just to piss in that guy’s morning coffee?”

Dick paused in eating just to think about the question. Instead of answering it, he just stared at Nixon, and stirred the dish on his plate. Nixon took that as a win, and went back to his own meal with a victorious look in his eyes.

“Speaking of ‘not Alphas’,” Nixon started after taking a bite of his meal, “how’s our Omega doing?”

“I don’t know, do you mean physically or emotionally?” Dick already knew that he was asking about the night that Sobel marked the soft-spoken Cajun, there was no need to clarify that part.

Nixon shrugged, “Both I suppose.”

“Well,” he really didn’t know where to begin, “Oats checked him out again yesterday morning. His cut is closing up, but there will definitely be a two inch scar right underneath his cheekbone,” he indicated the spot with his finger on his own face.

“He then checked his neck. Apparently, that night it was too dark to see, but yesterday morning there was clearly finger shaped bruises wrapped around his neck, dark ones too,” he paused to take a sip of his coffee, “Sobel likes to stare at them,” he added while staring off into space. He could still vividly see the irritated marks on the young Omega’s neck. They were disgusting to look at, and not just for the color of them. Dick could also feel the pack forming, and he knew that the small Omega was starting to mean so much more to them then just their medic. He was becoming their pack Omega, and someone outside of the pack hurt what was theirs.

“Oats wanted to check for any swelling,” he spoke again with a stronger voice, “but Roe quickly pushed him aside, and made it out of the building before any Alpha could stop him.”

Nixon laughed, “He’s a feisty one, isn’t he?”

“You could say that,” he replied with a fond smile, “During training yesterday, he seemed the most fired up out of all of them. Even came close to getting first on some of the courses,” he left out the part where he would have gotten first, if he didn’t stop so many times to help the others.

“Yeah? He talking more?”

Dick shook his head, “Just ‘yes, sir’ and ‘no, sir’.”

Nixon raised his brow, “Is he too afraid of Sobel to speak out again?”

“Not that I could smell. The day Sobel hit him, it was definitely in the air, but yesterday there was nothing, not even when Sobel got in his face.”

“Yep,” Nixon laughed again, “definitely a feisty one; I can tell. We’re going to have to keep an eye on him when we jump.”

“Not necessary. With the way things are going, he’s going to have at least five Alphas watching his back at all times.”

“Great, we should make up a schedule.” Nixon remarked sarcastically before returning to his meal.

Dick gave a half-smile, took a sip of his coffee, and looked out the window.

 _‘A schedule actually wouldn’t be a bad idea.’_ he thought, but then pondered it for a moment, and figured that if Gene knew there was a rotation to keep an eye on him, he would replace their airsickness pills with laxatives.

Dick smirked, _‘He really is a feisty one.’_

* * *

 

Dick could feel his muscles straining as he brought his knees to his chest while trying to jump through the ropes. He almost stumbled a few times, but it was better than what he’s ever done before. Especially with being in full-pack. He looked in front of him, only to see the one and only Omega leaping through the ropes like a gazelle.

 _‘Typical’_ he thought with a smile, and started to pump his legs faster to lead the group.

He dove into the wooden box that acted as a tunnel, gracefully army crawled through it, and successfully made it out on the other side. He witnessed Roe’s midnight black hair disappear behind the wall just as he was approaching it. Instead of following in his footsteps, he knew he had to slow down, and encourage some of the men lagging behind.

“Come on, men, over as a team! Get to the wall, get to the wall! You can do it!”

One Alpha, Private Holton, was stumbling in the back like a newborn calf. Despite already going through the course for weeks, moving from PT gear, to ODs, to, finally, full-packs, the young man was just born with low stamina. Dick doubted he was even in his twenties. He was a string bean, and instead of developing muscle through the whole ordeal of training, he was mostly just losing even more weight from the stress of it all. However, he was resilient, and that is what Dick liked best in the man.

The lanky Alpha was persistent to not be last, and tried his best to at least be somewhere in the middle. When he got to the wall, he jumped for the top, and just missed it.

“Come on, Holton, you can do it! Work as a team!” screamed Dick.

The private backed up a few steps to regain his momentum. That time, when he went for the jump, he was able to grab the top. However, right as he was about to throw himself down to the other side, his left foot got caught between two stacks of wood.

Dick watched the event as if it was happening in slow motion. The young Alpha tried to twist himself mid fall to free his foot, but that only caused a sickening crack to spread through the air, followed by a hollow thump, and a cry.

“Everybody stop!” Dick cried as he ran over to the other side of the wall. What he saw made his feet stop cold.

The kid’s eyes were blown wide, like he couldn’t take the orbs off of the sickening sight. His hands were outstretched, close to his left leg, but not quite touching it. His left foot was completely twisted, facing outwards, while, in the middle of his shin, there were two shards of bone peaking out through the skin. A crowd began to form around the injured Alpha, but no one got close enough to help.

At first, silenced encompassed them. Not even the victim made a single sound. They all just couldn’t take their eyes off of the horrifying spectacle. Finally, as if a switch was flipped, the private started making little gasping noises, that soon turned into full out screams.

“Jesus! Look at my leg! Look at my fucking leg! Why can’t I feel it?!”

Despite the cries of anguish, nobody moved from their spot. Not even Dick could make his body take a step towards the crying Alpha.

“What should I do? Fuck, is that my bone?! Where’s a fucking medic! MEDIC!”

The call rang across the field, and not even a few seconds later, footsteps followed. They were distant at first, but quick, so in no time the subject of the call was skidding to a stop besides the wounded man. It was none other than Eugene Roe.

The Omega quickly kneeled down next to the injured Alpha, taking off his helmet while doing so. His clothes were covered in pig’s blood and guts, but miraculously, his face and hands were clean, as if he cleaned himself off while running to the scene.

The medic got to work immediately, accessing the damage with careful eyes. When he brought his hands to the leg, the Alpha started to thrash in pain and scream.

“God, that fucking hurts! They’re going to have to cut it off, I just know it! There’s no way to fix it!”

The private seemed to go into a state similar to hysteria. Dick could tell that he wasn’t able to handle the pain, or the sight of his leg in any calm manner. There was no way to blame him either, but it also made Dick wonder how he would have reacted once faced with the horrors of war.

The medic on the ground, however, was instead thinking of how to calm the Alpha to prevent further injury.

He first started by pinning of private’s shoulder’s to the ground.

“Holton,” Dick heard him say, “you have to calm down! I can’t help ya if you don’t calm down!”

But the words were not working, and Holton continued to squirm in the medic’s grasp.

As if going on instinct, the Omega moved his hands from the Alpha’s shoulders, to cup his face and for his gaze to meet the other’s.

“You have to calm down, Holton. For me, ok?”

The words were softly spoken, soothing the screams to whimpers.

“It hurts, Doc.”

“I know. But it ain’t that bad. You’ll be just fine, Holton, ya hear me?”

The young Alpha nodded, causing Gene to give him a genuine smile. The sight was beautiful, and it caused everyone to inch closer to catch a quick glimpse of it before it was gone.

“I need ta take a look at it, ok?”

Holton nodded again, visibly shaking as Gene moved away from his face, and towards his leg. Before he started his assessment, he made direct eye contact with Dick.

“Sir, I need a stretcher on it’s way, now.”

The authority in his voice was something Dick never heard come out of an Omega before, but it was powerful, and it caused Dick to snap into action.

“Perconte, Tipper, go to the Aid Station and get a stretcher.”

“Yes, sir.” followed, and then they were off.

Gene was already onto the next step by the time they were gone. He was searching through his bag that all medics carried, and in no time revealed a packet of sulfa and a bandage.

He gently grabbed the leg with one hand, and, after ripping the packet open with his teeth, began to sprinkle the white powder on the open wound. The Alpha squirmed as the disinfectant hit his leg, and little moans escaped through his lips as the burning sensation started.

“You’re doin’ fine, Holton, doin’ fine.” Gene continued to repeat the phrase in a low voice, his accent thick and smooth.

He brought the bandage up to the wound, looking back at Holton with sorry eyes.

“I have ta put this bandage on, Holton. It’s gonna hurt, I ain’t gonna lie to you.”

The private nervously looked down at his leg, before making eye contact with the Omega.

“Can I have morphine or something first?”

Gene shook his head, “I’m sorry, I don’t got any yet. We get that later, closer to the end of training. But we've got ta to do this to prevent infection. You'll be fine, Holton.”

He must have seen acceptance in the lanky man’s eyes, because without any hesitation, the Omega wrapped the bandage around the leg, and quickly pulled tight.

The pressure caused Holton to throw his head back and scream. Gene was immediately back to the Alpha’s head, running his fingers through his hair, and whispering something that sounded like it was in French. It was calming, nonetheless. Dick could even tell that everyone around the Omega was lulled by the words.

In no time, Perconte and Tipper were running back with two medics, and a stretcher in tow.

The two Beta medics kneeled down next to the Omega medic, and started doing their own assessment.

“What’s the wound?”

“Broken left ankle, and open fractured tibia.”

“Medical care administered?”

“I put sulfa and a bandage on the open fracture, but I didn’t want ta set his ankle until we got back ta the Aid Station and given him morphine.” 

The senior medic nodded in understanding, “Good work, private. I’ll grab the shoulders, Jones, you grab the right leg, and you stabilize the left leg, private.”

The three medics got into their positions, and on the count of three, they picked up the wounded Alpha, and placed him on the stretcher. The Alpha let out a grunt, followed by a low moan. It was enough to get the soft-spoken Cajun to begin comforting him again.

“It’s ok, Holton, ya gonna be ok.”

The Omega repeated the phrase to the Alpha, until the group was out of sight with their wounded comrade.

Dick stared after them in amazement, and so did the others.

“Did you see that? One touch and he was just-”

“So calm. It’s like it was-"

“Magic I tell you. Our Doc’s got magic hands.”

“No shit? Our Doc’s magical?”

“They have faith healers down in Louisiana. I bet Doc’s one of them.”

"Didn't even need any morphine."

“I’ve never seen anything like that. We sure got one hell of a Doc, huh?”

The whispers spread throughout the company, that soon turned into full blown conversation about their ‘amazing medic’.

Dick smiled at the praise the Omega was getting, but he was in charge at the moment while Sobel was in a meeting, and he knew he had to get the company back on track with PT.

“Easy Company, move back to the beginning of the obstacle! We’re running it again!”

Groans followed the order, but everyone moved to the beginning of the course regardless.

Dick started to move too, but as he was walking, he looked out to where the Aid Station was, where he knew Doc Roe would be, and smirked. The Omega probably didn’t even realize that he was given the highest honor a combat medic could be given by his company. To be called ‘Doc’.

The situation, while unfortunate for Private Holton, gave Eugene a chance to prove his skills to the rest of the men, and gain respect from them. It could only go up from there for him.

* * *

 

Dick, Lewis, and the rest of Easy’s officers were standing in Easy’s barracks, once again getting chewed out by Sobel for no reason, watching as the CO started throwing things out of lockers and flipping mattresses over.

Dick had no idea why he started the random rampage, but he did notice the Captain pin on his uniform’s collar. He cringed internally at the thought of Sobel given more responsibilities. Especially when he felt his first duty as Captain should be to raid the barracks. However, Dick had to admit, seeing the stone cold Alpha holding a magazine with an Omega wearing a skimpy outfit on the front of it was amusing.

“Pornography, contraband.”

He picked up a tie, “Non-regulation clothing, contraband.”

He reached for a box, “This man had 200 prophylactic kits in his footlocker. How in the name of God would he have the strength to fight the war?!” and threw it across the room.

“How is it Private Tipper has spare time for so much correspondence?”

The last one was such a stretch, Dick couldn’t even stand silently anymore.

“Captain, are personal letters to be considered contraband?”

Sobel put his nose to one of the letters, and inhaled deeply, picking up the sweet Omega smell left behind. Dick could tell, because the strict Alpha’s pupils were blown wide after sniffing it.

“These men aren’t paratroopers yet, Lieutenant; they have no personal property.”

The letters were flung carelessly as Sobel quickly made his way to the company’s Omega’s locker.

“If it is to my understanding, Omega’s get their suppressants in the morning with breakfast, correct?”

Dick had to bite his tongue as Nixon responded, “Correct, sir.”

“Then why is it my Omega has his own box of suppressants?” the CO asked while holding up Gene’s medication.

Dick was disgusted that Sobel would even consider the quiet Omega’s medication as contraband. He was also infuriated at the other Alpha’s use of the word ‘my’. Sobel was not in the pack, so he had no claim whatsoever on Gene. The fact that he would even imply it made Dick almost growl in warning. Nixon was already one step ahead of him.

“Your Omega, sir?”

The question was asked with no sarcasm, annoyance, or hostility. However, it did catch Sobel off guard, making him stare wide eyed at the other Alpha. Nixon held the stare, letting the anger with the word choice show through his gaze. But Sobel was not about to back down, either.

“Yes, Lieutenant, you heard correctly. Is there a problem?”

Dick wanted to shout that yes, there was a huge problem, and that problem was Sobel, but both he and Lewis knew that at their rank, standing up for the Omega would only make Gene’s life harder. So they held back.

“No, sir.”

“Then someone explain this situation to me.” the Captain emphasized his point by shaking the box of pills.

“Sir, Private Roe was given the suppressants by the Chief Physician, after he expressed his concerns on an Omega being surrounded by Alphas 24/7. It would apparently wear him out without taking the medication three times a day, sir.” Dick explained.

Sobel seemed shocked at the information, but the other Alpha wasn’t one to simply give up on his rants. Especially when it looked like he could be wrong. So he simply handed the medication the a First Sergeant standing beside him and said, “Get rid of those.”

Dick couldn’t stand by and watch it happen, “Is Private Roe not aloud to have his medication, sir?”

Sobel turned his gaze to Dick, “No Omega in my company will be given any special treatment that could weaken him. He will have to learn to deal with being surrounded by his superiors. Is that clear, Lieutenant Winters?”

Dick knew it was a far-fetched reason, just something to make the CO look good if questioned. Although, Dick had a small inkling in the back of his head that suggested that the abusive Alpha had other reasons to take away an Omega’s suppressants. He prayed to God that he was wrong on his thoughts, and simply replied, “Yes, sir.” since there was nothing more he could do.

Sobel nodded, and continued his ransacking, only to find a can of peaches in Private Park’s footlocker.

After labeling the peaches as stolen United States Army property, ordering to get rid of the Private, and revoking Easy’s passes once again, “Officers included,” they were finally dismissed.

Dick barely took three steps, before he was called back by his superior.

“Lieutenant Winters.”

Despite the call being for Dick, Nixon stopped as well. It gave Dick just the amount of time he needed to whisper to Nixon, “Tell Gene to get new suppressants before lights out,” and nudge him towards the door. Taking one moment to make sure Nixon actually walked out, Dick made his way to the Captain.

Sobel simply turned around, and walked out of the back door, Dick right behind him. Once outside, both Alphas put on their side caps.

“Colonel Sink has seen fit to promote you,” started the shorter Alpha. He then stopped abruptly to turn around and face Dick. He took out a pin, something Dick immediately recognized as the one to label someone as a First Lieutenant, and began to put it on Dick’s collar.

“As First Lieutenant, you’ll serve as my executive officer,” once he finished putting on the silver bar, he stood straight to stare Dick in the eyes, “Congratulations.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“And as a test of your organizational skills and command potential, I am designating you mess officer for 14 days. Report to the mess kitchen at 0515 hours with the rest of the Omega cooks. Company breakfast to be served at 0600.”

Dick knew the new task was meant to be an insult, especially since he was assigned to, in Sobel’s mind, an ‘Omega’s job’. However, he couldn’t bring himself to care, having more respect for Omegas than ever before after working beside Eugene Roe.

So he simply said, “Yes, sir.”

Not seeing an resistance in Dick’s eyes, Sobel continued to walk, carrying on his conversation.

“Oh, and, Dick, there’s rain forecast tomorrow, so the company will have a light afternoon of lecture and classroom instruction.”

Sobel stopped in the middle of the walkway, turning towards Dick.

“I think a special meal before their afternoon off would be a welcome change of pace. Would you agree?”

“Yes, sir.”

A short pause, and then,

“I like spaghetti.”

* * *

 

Dick didn’t mind the task given to him. The Omegas listened to him, worked fast, and never complained. They were actually easier to be in charge of than a whole company of unruly Alphas.

Lunch was the busiest time. With a change in the routine menu, and the promise of a light afternoon, the men of Easy came scrambling in in groups of five or more. The food, Dick had to admit, was not even that appealing, but anything was better than the usual sludge served to them.

“Hold on, more coming,” one Omega stated as he carried the pot back to stove, “These guys are packing it away.”

Dick looked out at his pack enjoying the meal, or as much as they could.

“This stuff is orange. Spaghetti ain’t supposed to be orange.” remarked one soldier.

“This isn’t spaghetti,” responded Perconte, “this is Army noodles with ketchup.”

“You ain’t gotta eat it.” Guarnere insisted as he sat down next to him.

“Oh, come one, Gonorrhea, as a fellow Italian you should know that calling this crap spaghetti is a mortal sin.”

“You don’t want it? I’ll have it.” Hoobler butt in while reaching for Perconte’s plate.

“I’m eating here!”

“Hey! Get outta here!” Guarnere tried to elbow Hoobler out of their space.

“Ha, that’s ok, I don’t need your crappy food,” Hoobler said while returning to his seat. He then looked up to the quiet medic sitting across from him, “Especially when I have a sweet Omega here who I bet is amazing in the kitchen.”

Said Omega looked up from his food with a little smile on his face, accepting the wink directed his way with a roll of his eyes. After living with the company of Alphas for almost half a year, he was used to all forms of flirting directed his way. Dick was actually surprised how well the Cajun took it all, especially since some comments could be crude. Other comments were just slightly demeaning, like Hoobler’s, but the could natured Omega always took it with some humor.

After serving the last member in the company, Dick had the Omegas start to clean up. He found Sobel’s choice to forego PT and serve a semi-nice meal surprising. He knew there would be a catch when he was given the order. The catch came about 10 minutes later, when everyone was about done eating.

“Orders changed! Get up!”

The sudden appearance of Sobel caused every man to drop their forks and stand at attention.

“Lectures are cancelled; Easy Company is running up Currahee! Move! Move!”

No complaints were heard, just head drops, and disbelieving looks passed between friends as everyone quickly scurried out of the mess hall.

“Three miles up, three miles down! Hi-yo, Silver! Let’s go! Let’s go!”

Dick smiled when Sobel looked his way, not at all surprised in the change in plans. He then turned around, ready to make his way back to the barracks, and join the others on their run.

To sum up the rest of the day, there was a lot of puking, a lot of cramping, but no quitting.

Easy’s spirit stayed strong.

* * *

 

_Benning was, if possible, even more miserable than Toccoa, especially its infamous Frying Pan area, where the jump training went on._

“So do we feel like we’re ready to be Army paratroopers?”

“Yes, Sergeant!”

“I hope so,” continued the jump teacher, “This will be the first of five exits from a C-47 aircraft scheduled for today. Upon successful completion of your fifth and final jump, you’ll be certified Army paratroopers.”

Dick could tell the last sentence had everyone’s complete attention. Not that anybody wasn’t hanging off of every word the man was saying already. This was their first time jumping out of a plane, and their chance of finally becoming what they all came to do. After enduring everything that Sobel threw at them, and enduring Sobel himself, no one was going to back down now. Or, at least, Dick hoped not.

“There’ll be a lot of men jumping from the sky today, hopefully under deployed canopies. You will be jumping from 1000 feet AGL, in sticks of 12 jumpers per aircraft. All you have to do is remember what you were taught, and I guarantee you, gravity will do the rest.”

He paused to let his words sink in before continuing.

“And gentlemen, rest assured, any refusals in the aircraft or at the door, and I guarantee you will be out of the Airborne.”

The jump teacher took a moment to scan the faces in the crowd, making sure each and every one of them was taking the experience as seriously as it should be taken.

He must have been satisfied with what he saw, because the next words he spoke were, “Ok, get into your jump groups,” signifying the end of the debriefing.

Out of habit, Dick look around for the company’s Omega. He knew already that he would not be in his group, since he was jumping with mostly officers, but he at least wanted to make sure he was grouped with trusting Alphas. Some Alphas, like Cobb for example, made him nervous when around the Omega. Not that Cobb wasn’t a good man, he just had prejudices about Omegas, and no filter to keep them to himself. This made Gene more uncomfortable around him than any other Alpha in the company (excluding Sobel). And this was not a time to feel any kind of nerves.

He calmed down when he saw him by Johnny Martin, Bull Randleman, and Joseph Liebgott. While Liebgott was not known to interact with the Omega a lot, he still kept an eye out for him in his own way, which Dick appreciated. There were a number of times during the march to Fort Benning that Dick caught Liebgott pulling an Alpha from a different company aside before they even got near their medic. So he knew the French speaker was safe when around him.

Gene was currently making small talk with David Webster, who was also in their jump group. However, it was more of Gene smiling and nodding politely as Webster went on and on about who knows what. Dick guessed it had something to do with the fish in Bayou Chene, Louisiana, or even about the special French dialect the Cajuns have there. Whatever the discussion, it was a good distraction for them. However, it seemed the men didn’t need a distraction, since they were all so psyched up about the jump.

The first jump was nerve racking. Two men from Easy froze, one being Joe Ramirez. Although, after everyone jumped out of the plane, Ramirez asked the jumpmaster to try again. The plane circled around for him, and he was able to jump the second time. Everyone agreed he had more guts than the people who jumped the first time. Most people who froze the first time could not bring themselves to do it after that, even with countless of second chances offered to them.

The second jump was much easier, and most men found out they loved the thrill of jumping. To the astonishment of the jumpmaster, the planes were cleared in six seconds.

The last three jumps happened quickly, with little to no difficulty. Sobel seemed to hesitate each jump, making more than just Dick hope he would chicken out and get kicked out of the Airborne, but every time the Captain managed to suck it up and jump.

Overall, 94 percent of the men in the 506th qualified to be paratroopers, which didn’t shock Dick at all. When the men got their certificates saying that they were, “entitled to be rated from this date as a qualified Parachutist,” and, the proudest moment, had their silver wings pinned on their uniforms, it seemed like the six months they endured with Captain Sobel were finally worth it.

What made it even more special was that their favorite Omega made it through with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you guys want to read a little bit of the march to Fort Benning, I can add that separately if you want, and make this kind of a series. 
> 
> Also, tell me if you want to see the party they have after they get their wings. because I was just going to jump straight to Camp Mackall after this. If people want it, and it doesn't really fit in with the next chapter, I can make that into a one-shot too. 
> 
> Apparently, Webster trained with Fox Company, but requested to be switched to Easy after D-Day to see more action. Because he was seen with Easy Company during jump training in the series, and I love him, we'll make him an official Easy Company pack member from the start. 
> 
> The five jumps also took place over a course of time. The first two jumps happened on the same day, the fourth jump on Christmas Eve, and the final jump on December 26th. Since in the series the jumpmaster says "the first of five jumps scheduled for today", I assumed they made all five jumps in one day to cut time. Just a little explanation in case anybody really cares about proper timelines. 
> 
> See you next time! Hopefully sooner than this chapter!


	5. Currahee 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training at Camp Mackall, Gene obtains something important, but is afraid, Dick talks to him about it, and he meets a missing member of the pack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No disrespect is meant towards any of the real men of Easy Company. This is based off of the HBO series, plus my own mind.
> 
> Hey everyone! Sorry this is so late, I wrote a long, modern AU, BabeRoe one shot that took me FOREVER! Hahaha, honestly, it had more words than this story. It might still. Anyways, I hope this chapter isn't too short. I'm leaving on vacation this week, so I wanted to post something before I left. 
> 
> Thank you guys so much for such wonderful feedback! Honestly, you guys make my day, and make writing this so much fun, because I want you guys to enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! Someday I will write the march to Benning, and the party after getting their jump wings, but for now, please enjoy some Omega Roe in Camp Mackall. I also kind of strayed from my rule to only use the HBO series. Some of the thing in the chapter are from the book.

Gene winced as he shifted his knee onto a rock, and held back a French swear.

While he was one to enjoy nature, unlike some of these city boys, he would much rather be near swamps and gators than endless rows of pine trees.

Not that he could see much of them. He was told in training that medics had to stay towards the back of the men, to make them less of a target. Not that the red cross on their arms, bags, and, sometimes, helmets were targets enough.

Omega medics were segregated even more by placing a white, omega symbol on their helmets, and black ones on their arms, both about the size of a dollar coin. According to the Geneva Accords, medics were non-combatants, and could not be shot at. Many nations argued that male Omegas were ‘precious’ to their culture, and if put in anyone's army, their should be an even more noticeable mark to let the enemy know they were especially off limits.

Gene heard rumors that it just made them bigger targets, especially in the Pacific. It was a whole other story if you were captured. That’s why after they jumped, he was going to ditch the helmet the first chance he got for another one.

He shifted again, trying to relieve the ache in his legs from the uncomfortable position. He was getting pretty bored just staring at the backs of the same men, but the last, and only time he tried to peek over their heads, Toye reached over and pushed his head lower, while harshly whispering, “Keep your Goddamn head down, Omega.”

He had to bite his tongue from saying anything, knowing that Toye was right, but the way he said it made him simmer. It didn’t help that since that moment, men have turned around once in awhile to make sure he was still seated where he was assigned to be.

Gene wanted to shout that they had enough to worry about than where he was supposed to be positioned, especially since he could practically smell the nerves bouncing off the men. They may not have been in combat yet, but it sure as hell felt real enough. Having Sobel as their Commanding Officer was not helping either.

“Petty! Map! Come on!”

“Jesus Christ, again?” he heard Guarnere to his left as Petty ran up to the Captain, suppressing his own annoyance along the way.

Sobel furiously ripped the map out of the Private’s hand, and laid it against the base of a tree, pretending to understand something everyone knew he couldn’t.

“We’re in the wrong position.” Gene could hear him mumble as Lieutenant Winters came sliding in next to him.

“We’re in the wrong position.” he repeated to Winters, panic trickling in his voice.

“We’re textbook position for ambush, sir,” Winters tried to reassure the jumpy Alpha, “I think we should sit tight, let the enemy come into our killing zone.”

“There right out there somewhere,” Sobel spoke in earnest, “Let’s just get ‘em!”

Gene scrunched his nose up in disgust. Looking around, he could see the other men exchanging distasteful  glances at their CO’s childish behavior. Gene could honestly admit he’s never been more turned off from an Alpha in his entire life. The words made him think of a pup playing soldier rather than the Captain of the finest company in the 101st Airborne.

“Sir, we have perfect cover here.”

“Lieutenant, deploy your troops.”

Winters looked back at Sobel for one moment, before doing what was asked of him from his superior officer.

“Second platoon, move out!”

The men looked at each other in confusion, some exchanging whispers among themselves.

“Tactical column.”

That got the everyone scurrying out of the makeshift trench, getting into a new position. Gene glanced at the mortar squad as the quickly packed up their equipment, and followed suite.

They tried to move quietly, but at the quick pace Sobel was moving at, it was almost impossible to not rustle the leaves and break twigs littering the ground.

They did not make it far, before the ‘enemy’ was popping out of the bushes in a perfect display of patience, something their CO seemed to lack.

Gene looked over at said Alpha, only to witness a pathetic, wide eyed stare fall upon his face. The confusion in his eyes was not something a pack Alpha should have. He saw the other Alphas of the pack look down in irritation. Sobel wasn’t even the pack Alpha that they deserved.

“Captain, you’ve just been killed, along with 95% of you company. Your outfit?”

Still in a shocked daze, Sobel answered the question, “Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506.”

“Leave three wounded men on the ground and report back to the assembly area.”

No one could hide their exasperated faces, not even more of the calm Alphas, like Sergeant Lipton.

Gene himself was also having a hard time controlling his anger. It was mistakes like this that would evidently get the entire pack killed, and put more blood on Gene’s hands than was necessary. Just the thought of seeing the pack bleeding out and dying caused anxiety to fill Gene’s stomach like rocks.

Suddenly, he felt a twinge on his neck that made him flinch, as if the thought caused the slight pain. He tried to discreetly rub at the tenderness that began to form in the spot where his neck met his right shoulder, thinking it must have been a bug bite. When his hand got to the spot, he froze. The bump he felt was way too big to be a bug bite, and it was buried deep under his skin. It almost felt like his mating gland, but a little different-

His eyes widened in realization.

_ Oh no. _

The half Cajun was so transfixed on the forming, hidden lump, he didn’t even realize that Sobel picked their three ‘wounded’ men, and was ready to take the walk of shame back to camp, before catching sight of their only Omega rubbing at a spot that could only mean one thing,

A pack gland was forming.

Sobel smirked and leered at the Omega. A pack gland only formed when the members of a beginning pack felt the same amount of protectiveness in one particular Omega, and that Omega has proven himself/herself capable of taking care of them. Once the gland has fully developed, the Head Alpha, who is chosen by the pack members based on strength and leadership, would have to claim their Omega as pack property.

And claim him he would

Gene, on the other hand, had no idea how he was chosen to be the pack’s Omega. Since day one, he swore not to get too close to the men, since he couldn’t bear the thought of losing someone that he cared about again. It was too painful.

But a pack bond would make things so much worse. Once the Head Alpha was found, and he claimed him, then the pack would be fully formed, and everyone would be so much closer in a way that couldn’t even be described. On one hand, it would make trusting each other during combat easier, but for Gene, whose job was to patch up these men as best as he could before they bled out in his arms, the bond could only hinder him.

Right?

All of a sudden he felt the eyes of everyone in his platoon fall onto him. He looked up, only to realize that they were all staring at the same exact spot that his hand was covering. He whipped his hand down, trying to make it look there wasn’t the only thing to completely solidify a pack forming on his neck. He was failing miserably.

Once the CO dismissed them, Gene kept his head down, trying to blend in with the others from their company. He could hear the whispers surround him, though, as friends started telling each other what they just witnessed. Some tried to crane their necks to get a look at his neck, sure to be red by then from Gene touching it.

He suddenly felt a body slide up next to his. He looked up to come face to face with none other than Lieutenant Winters himself.

“Private,” said the red-headed Alpha nonchalantly, as if they talked to each other everyday.

“Sir,” he responded with the same relaxed manner, ignoring how the gland seemed to twitch at the sound of the Alpha’s voice.

They walked forward in silence. The French speaking Omega tried to ignore how the others started forming a wall around them, giving them space to talk privately, while also cutting them off from on wanted attention, like Sobel’s. However, he couldn’t help but glare at the first Alpha he saw for the obvious and unwanted gesture. Unfortunately, it turned out to be Luz, someone who found his ‘annoyed face’ to be ‘cute’, and winked back at him.

“It was bound to happen eventually,” the Lieutenant spoke suddenly, causing Gene to refocus his attention back to him.

“What, sir?” he tried to play dumb. He really didn’t want to have that specific conversation at the time.

The other man only raised an eyebrow in his direction, “You really think that’s smart? Denying it like that?”

“I don’ know what you’re talkin’ about, sir.” he tried again.

The Alpha shook his head, “These men need you, Doc. You have to accept it, so they can do their job.”

That made something inside him snap.

“An what about my job?”

He was too ticked off to care about formalities.

“Your job?”

“I’ll be seeing more death than anyone in the company, if I become what these men want me to become, how am I supposed to do my goddamn job?”

At that point, they were back to camp, and Winters was able to lead them to a more secluded spot behind a building. Gene was grateful for it, since he was having a hard time keeping his normal mellow tone.

“Gene,” the Alpha started, “explain to me what a medic does.”

He was filled with confusion, “They try to deliver first aid to the wounded during combat.”

Winters nodded, “And what else?”

“They keep the company healthy while they’re on the move, making sure they have everything they need.”

“And if the men just can’t handle it, if you’ve tried everything you could, and there’s no possible way to save someone, what do you do?”

Gene thought about it for a few seconds, trying to think about what exactly his superior officer was getting at, before finally settling on, “Comfort them as best as I can.”

The tall Alpha nodded in confirmation, “What you described is everything these men need in their pack Omega, it’s no wonder they picked you.”

Winters could see how the medic was at a loss of words, just staring into his eyes, trying to figure everything out in his head right then and there.

The Lieutenant chuckled and placed his hand on Gene’s right shoulder, thumb ghosting over where the gland was forming, and Gene didn’t flinch away.

“When these men are down, before they call out for God, or their mothers, they call for you. Who better to arrive than they’re pack Omega to calm them down, and provide them comfort for maybe the last moments they might be able to receive it. The bond won’t hinder you Gene, it just might make you a better medic.”

After those words, Winters squeezed his shoulder, and moved his thumb along the spot where the gland was sure to be, causing it to ache a little. When he let go, Gene couldn’t resist the urge to cover the spot with this hand, trying to keep the comforting warmth present.

As the Alpha began to walk away, the half Cajun couldn’t help but yell out to him.

“It’ll be you, ya know.”

Winters turned around and raised his eyebrow, shock and amusement filling his eyes.

Gene shrugged, “Just call it an Omega’s intuition.”

Winters smiled, “I’ll be waiting then.”

Gene followed his form as he walked back to his barracks, probably to meet up with Lieutenant Nixon.

He knew he had to mull over what was spoken to him a little more, before fully coming to terms with what was to be expected of him.

“Hey, Eugene!”

He turned around to see Pepping walking towards him.

“We have medic training this afternoon, remember?” he asked after getting closer to the Omega, “Ya know, you would’ve gotten into a lot of trouble if it wasn’t for me hunting down your scrawny ass. What do I look like, a runner?”

Gene laughed lightly, and gently bumped shoulders with his fellow medic, “Stop your complainin’ and get your own ass movin’ before we’re both late, Pepping.”

“Yeah Yeah.”

As they were walking towards the medical tent, Gene looked out in the distance to see the rest of Easy moving towards the rifle range. He witnessed how Luz made the people around him laugh, how Skip, Malarkey, and Penkala stayed close to one another (and seemed to be making fun of Penkala for something), and how Guarnere seemed to give the younger guys life lessons they didn’t even ask for. His heart seemed to swell at the smiles on everyone’s faces, and he decided right then and there that he would at least try to be what the men have entrusted him with.

For them.

 

* * *

A few days after Gene had his talk with Winters, Easy obtained a new man to their company, who fit in so well, he was basically pack after the first week. His name was Lieutenant Harry Welsh, a tough Irishman from the 82nd, and a fast friend to their Lieutenant Winters. That automatically made him trustworthy.

When Gene first met him, the first question he was asked was,

“How is an Omega holding up in this company?”

The question was honest curiosity, no sarcasm detected, so he answered just as honestly, “As well as can be expected surrounded by these Alphas 24/7, sir.”

What he got in return was a lovesick smile, and a rant about how his sweetheart, ‘Kitty’, at home would say the same thing, but also show these Alpha’s who’s really in charge.

He spent the rest of the afternoon listening to so many stories about his Omega, he felt like he already knew her personally. He was able to escape the stories after lunch for medic training, and good thing too, because he had the feeling Lieutenant Welsh only had so many stories about Kitty to last the war.

He was told in that same week that Lieutenant Nixon was promoted, and moved up to battalion staff. He could say he would miss the Lieutenant, but seeing as he was always still around Lieutenant Winters, and the winks and little waves didn’t stop, he would be lying.

Camp Mackall was filled with many new types of training. How fit they actually were was determined by a physical fitness test administered by the Department of the Army. The first time they ran it, the battalion scored a 97%, the highest score ever recorded for the Army. Since that was the case, a Colonel from Washington ordered them to run it again. So they did, but Strayer also had the Omega cooks, jeep drivers, postal workers, and clerks run it with them.

They scored a 98%.

One of Gene’s favorite memories at the camp was a particular field exercise, specifically made to train the medics. It was just like their other field exercises, except a number of men were designated as simulated casualties, so the medics could practice bandaging would, make casts and splints, and evacuating the men efficiently. Just Gene’s luck, Sobel was picked as a simulated casualty.

Since he knew Sobel had it out for him, and he personally didn’t want to help him in any way, Gene made sure to stay on the other side of the field, where men from third platoon were laying around. While bandaging a ‘wounded’, Talbert (who apparently actually did have a splinter, and needed him to ‘kiss’ it to make it better….which he did not), he heard that some medics put Sobel under a real anesthetic, and made an incision that made it look like an appendectomy was performed on him. The wound was sewed up, bandaged, and the culprits were gone. When the CO woke up, he immediately thought it was Gene who performed the small, mock surgery. His weekend pass was revoked, and was he threatened with a court martial, when third platoon, and many others, vouged he was not around him throughout the entire exercise. His weekend pass remained revoked for not ‘actively seeking the wounded’, but he didn’t care. The panicked look on Sobel’s face was worth it.

 

* * *

Camp Mackall soon became a fleeting memory as the company was once again packing up, and moving out, except this time, no one had any idea where they were going. That was there first clue that there final days of training in America were finally coming to an end, and the threat of war loomed closer.

Gene lugged his bag to the trucks that were waiting outside of the camp for them. They all had their dress uniforms on, the medics still brandishing their armbands, and the Omega medics still having a little black ‘ Ω’ stitched onto them. He walked out with a few of them, some he used to talk with while in the medical detachment, before spotting his own company. He quickly waved goodbye, and made his way towards them.

When he got closer, he went to through his bag into the back of the first truck that seemed to have room. Before he even got it off of his back, however, the weight was lifted off of his shoulders, and thrown in with another sack. He immediately turned around to come face to face with Bull Randleman.

He glared, “I coulda done it myself, ya know.”

The stocky Alpha smirked around his cigar, “Everyone knows ya  could of,” he spoke in a deep, southern voice, “but my mama didn’t raise no wild wolf.”

He reached a hand out, and pat Gene shoulder, hand hovering slightly over the spot where the pack bonding gland lied, “The trucks are leavin’ soon, stay close.”

Gene was ready to say “Worry about yourself,” but the curly haired Alpha was already making his way back to Luz, Skip, and Malarkey, leaving the lone Omega medic by the truck. He frowned (not pouted, goddamn it), and decided to spend his last few moment of peace by the side of the barracks, no Alphas, just his thoughts.

On his way there, he saw a small group forming on the ground of Cobb stretched out, and Toye, Wynn, and Shifty (he could call them by their nicknames in his head, but he wasn’t ready to say them out loud), sitting on their bags. He was prepared to continue on his path, and ignore the Alphas, when Cobb’s words caught his attention.

“You gotta admit, he’s got no chance. Either the Krauts will get him, or one of us.”

“Who? Sobel?” Liebgott joined them.

“He screwed up one maneuver,” Shifty said while pulling apart blades of grass. He was trying to keep the peace among everyone, which Gene found admirable. This was not a time to start a strike.

“Ah, you know, I’m always fumbling with grenades…Would be easy if one went off by accident, ya know…” the words seemed like a joke to anyone passing the group, but to the people who knew what Sobel was like, who felt the same panic when thinking about being stuck next to him in combat, those words were a promise.

“Well, they must have put him in charge for a reason.”

“Yeah, ‘cause the Army wouldn’t make a mistake, right, Shift?”

“Forget about Sobel being our CO for one second,” Toye interrupted, “we’ve got bigger problems. If this pack isn’t formed by the time we jump, there’s no way we’re going to make it.”

“Yeah, well something has to be done about Sobel first. Until he’s gone, a Head Alpha can’t be picked.” said Liebgott.

Wynn scoffed, “Like he’s going to give up being Head Alpha over a pack like Easy.”

“Hey,” shouted Cobb, “there’s no way in hell Sobel would ever be my Head Alpha. I’ll through the goddamn grenade at him myself if I have to.”

“As long as he doesn’t mark Gene, then we’ve got no problem.”

“Yeah, easier said than done, Shift. He’s always hovering over him, and Doc isn’t the easiest Omega to watch out for,” Liebgott stated, causing Gene to narrow his eyes.

“Hey, he’s tough, I like that in an Omega,” Toye retorted while leaning further back against his bag.

Cobb snickered, “You better, that’s the only Omega we’ll be seeing for months.”

Toye tilted his head to the side, “I’m not complaining.”

Gene felt like he overstayed he eavesdropping, especially since they were starting to talk about him in ways that made him feel uncomfortable, so he walked away from the group, and leaned against the first wall he came by.

He looked around for a bit, watching the different people from different companies walk out of their barracks, get rid of their sacks, or shoot the shit with their friends. He noticed there was still a steady stream of people trickling in, so while they were leaving soon, he still had enough time to relax.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest, leaning his head back till it hit the surface behind him. He closed his eyes, trusting that he’d be aware enough to hear the trucks start, or that someone would call for him when they were ready to leave.

He was in the position for only a few minutes, relaxing his muscles, lulling himself into a sort of daze as the noise from the men filled the air. He felt a weight lean against the wall right next to him, but thought nothing of it. It wasn’t like he owned the wall, others could rest against it too. There was a lot of room, though, so he was confused why he chose to stand just a couple feet away from him. Suddenly, the body slid closer to him, making the space go from feet, to inches between them. He opened his eyes, and leaned his head off the wall. When he looked towards his right, he saw a tall, muscular Alpha, leering at him beneath hooded eyelids. His hair was greased, and slicked back, leaving only a little curl in the front. His eyes were brown, but filled with almost no emotion except for lust. His smell was so overpowering, that it gave Gene the sense of cheap cologne, instead of the deep, earthy smells he usually liked.

The Alpha was unfamiliar to him, so he guessed that he was either a Dog or a Fox man. Whoever he was, he was crowding him, and his smell made Gene want to gag.

“Hey sweetcheeks, what’s a pretty broad like you standing here by yourself?”

His voice sounded whiney to Gene’s ears. It was an accent hard to place, but easy to never want to hear again.

As the Alpha spoke, he moved closer to the Omega medic, standing directly in front of him, while bracing one hand against the wall.

“You got sick of Easy, so he decided to hang out with us Dog boys, right? That’s why you’re all the way over here?”

Gene looked over the Alpha’s shoulder in shock and realized that, yes, he did wander into Dog’s loading zone, and Easy was too far away to see anything.

He tried to inch away from the other man, but the Dog private place his other hand onto the wall next to Gene’s head, completely boxing him in.

“Don’t be like that, baby,” he spoke while leaning in forward. Gene honestly felt like he was going to puke, “you’ve been hanging around them Easy boys so much, I bet you forgot what it was like to be with a real Alpha.”

He brought his lips down to Gene’s neck, rubbing them over the area that his bond mark would be placed once he found his mate. It was completely uncomfortable, and it made Gene turn his head to protect that side of his neck.

The Alpha backed his face up a few inches, and smirked, “Feisty, aren’t we? Don’t worry, we can fix that,” he brought his one hand up to caress his neck, “we can go in the back real quick, and I can show you how you’re supposed to act, I’ll put you in your place.”

Gene was just about to knee the asshole in the balls, screw causing a scene, when a new smell came into the picture, overshadowing the other Alpha’s weird, cologne one. This was bark and iron, it was pure, and it was was strong.

“Private Adams.”

Just the name spoken caused the other Alpha to freeze over, and jump away from the Omega.

“Sir!”

Gene looked at who could cause the quick demeanor change of another Alpha, and met eyes with the darkest brown he’s ever seen. They gaze he held was cold, sharp, yet deep, and passionate. Gene felt like just a single look from him could kill a man.

The dark haired Alpha true his eyes away from the medic, and focused back onto the scared shitless private.

“You’re platoon has already been loaded onto a truck, Private. I would try to catch up,” he leaned into the smaller Alpha’s face, “you wouldn’t want to be left behind, would you?”

The private seemed to shake in his boots, “No, sir!”

The taller Alpha looked the other up and down, “Then get moving.”

The words seemed to be what the other needed to bolt it away from the two, tail tucked between his legs.

Gene watched how he scrambled to his platoon, looking back a few times, and tripping on his own feet.

He looked back at the other when he felt eyes on himself. He meant to say thank you, but the moment he made eye contact with the other, it was like he got lost in the other’s gaze. He could feel it, and he was sure the other could feel it to. There was a bond there, but not for mating. The pack gland was aching again, seemingly tugging inside of him, trying to get closer to the other man.

This man was pack.

Gene was sure they could have stared at each other forever, when he finally heard someone cry his name.

“Doc! Come on, we’re leaving.”

Gene looked in the direction the voice came from, and then looked back at the other Alpha. No words were spoken between the two. No words had to be. The man nudged his head towards the direction of Gene’s truck, and he took that as a sign to go.

When he got to his truck, a hand popped out from the back to help pull him in. He took it, and found himself pulled between Malarkey and Penkala.

“Are you out of your goddamn mind, Doc? Do you know who that is?” Malarkey whispered harshly from his left.

He shook his head, “Can’t say I do.”

“Well let me just tell you that that is the toughest sonofabitch in this regiment! The Alpha’s crazy! He’s one of dog’s CO’s, Lieutenant Speirs!”

Gene started to tune Malarkey out, only nodding here and there to make him think he was still interested.

Part of the ride seemed to be stories about the Lieutenant, and comment from the other men. Penkala tried to change the subject once, but turned into a stuttering mess when Gene smiled his direction in thanks. It did work to change the subject, though, since the rest of the trip was the guys making jokes at Penkala’s obvious crush. Gene was barely paying attention, to busy thinking back at those dark eyes, and how wrong it felt that he wasn’t with Easy.

He wondered if he’d see him again, under what circumstances, and if those eyes were really as deadly as they seemed.

But he couldn’t think about it now, there were other things to worry about. Like for instance,

Where were they going?


	6. Currahee 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paratroopers board S.S. Samaria, Gene is still trying to come to terms with being a potential pack Omega, he helps a young Alpha with some relationship problems, and sleeps with someone in Easy in an attempt to comfort him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No disrespect is meant towards any of the real men of Easy Company. This is based off of the HBO series, plus my own mind.
> 
> Whasuuuuuupppp? Hey guys, I am back! I'm so sorry this took so long, I kept getting stuck on what to write. I also wanted to finish the whole voyage to Europe, but I realized that if I did that, this chapter would take me like three more weeks to write. So I decided to stop a little earlier. 
> 
> As always, your feedback is AMAZING!!! It honestly makes me so happy to read it, or see a new Kudo, or Bookmark, or Subscription! I'm just so happy you're enjoying the story. I read an authors notes for someone else's story, and they apologized for not responding to comments. That got me thinking, and I would also like to apologize for not responding to your comments. I will try to from now on, because I think it is an important feature that ao3 has over fanfiction, and I want you guys to know how much I actually appreciate each individual comment.
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy!

Gene tried to look over the heads of the men to get a glimpse of the water. If there was one thing he could say he missed about being back home, besides his family, he would say fishing. There was something about sitting on a small boat in the middle of the water that calmed him. A place where it was just him, his thoughts, and the occasional fish he was able to snatch. No knot headed Alphas, no mothers wanting grandchildren, and, best of all, no war.

He was told many times that it was an Alpha and Beta man’s hobby, and that he should stick to things like cooking, and fixing patches in torn clothes: Omega household jobs. When he would go to the bar after a relaxing day with his fishing pole, he would be approached by some Alphas that had no problem telling him how the overpowering smell of fish masked his normally sweet, chocolate scent, and it was a turn off. Then it would turn into a distasteful direction where they would describe how if he went home with them, he would only be allowed to smell like milk, the normal underlying scent of a pregnant Omega, and the Alpha that got him that way. 

It was usually in that part of the conversation where he would punch the unassuming Alpha across that face, be taken out of the bar by one of his friends, and lectured at home by his Ma how his ‘unruly behavior’ was not becoming of an Omega, and he should really consider settling down soon. 

Gene crinkled his nose at the thought. He definitely couldn’t see himself bonding and having kids with any of the Alphas at home. Not all of them were as bad as he remembered. Some actually really tried with him, asked him out to dinner, bought him courting gifts, listened to his interests, the whole nine yards, but he always knew they were looking for a soft Omega to pop out pups, and make sure dinner was on the table when the Alpha got home from work. 

What they didn’t realize was that, while he had a normal sweet scent of any Omega, there was also something spicy that could be detected in the mix, and that was no mistake.

So if he wanted to go fishing, he would go fishing.

Gene looked up at the huge ship they were being loaded onto, the words S.S. Samaria printed neatly on the side.

And if he wanted to go to war, then, goddamnit, he was going to go to war. 

He must have stopped moving at one point, too lost in his thoughts, because he felt the strong hand of Bull clasp the back of his neck and give him a little push.

“Best keep the line moving, Doc.” he spoke in a smooth drawl.

Without looking back at the Alpha, Gene started walking again, enjoying the feeling of walking on land before he was crammed into a ship with 5,000 other Alphas, Betas, and Omegas. All around him, he could hear the grumblings of others. 

“This thing looks like it could barely fit 1,000, let alone 5,000.”

“Yeah, and who knows how long we’re going to be in it.”

“Can’t believe no one’s even here to see us off. I wanted to see a bunch of pretty broads waving their little handkerchiefs at us.”

“Not that they would even know who we are. Couldn’t even wear our goddamn jump boots or patch.”

“I’m too hungover to even give a shit.”

“You’re not the only one, Christenson.”

Luz nudged him in the shoulder, “Maybe our special Doc can give us something!”

Gene shook his head, and looked back at the men with a small smile, “I’m not wastin’ my supplies on stupid, drunken Alphas like yourselfs. Deal with it on your own.”

Luz put his hand on his heart in mock hurt, “You’re too cruel, doll. Not even for your soon to be pack.”

The words shocked Gene to his core. He did not forget his conversation with Lieutenant Winters, or his own promise to himself to try to accept the drastic change in the company’s relationship, but it was still hard to hear the word, and remember the commitment that followed. He doubted the others even knew about his own struggle with being labeled as the pack’s Omega, all of them too focused on finding a Head Alpha to finally complete the circle, and he would like to keep it that way.

“Excuse me,” he murmured to the others, pushing his way through the crowd. He couldn’t let them see how uncomfortable the topic made him. 

He didn’t think he succeeded, however, since he heard behind him a smack, followed by Liebgott’s voice saying, “Nice going, Luz.”

Gene couldn’t bring himself to care, though. He cared about the men of Easy in ways he couldn’t even understand, and it was already affecting his relationship with them. Despite Winters’s words, he just couldn’t shake the feeling that the title they gave him would only make his job nearly impossible. His gut already wretched at the thought of losing one of them, he couldn’t imagine the emotional and physical pain he would feel when losing a pack member. 

And that wouldn’t even be his only problem. 

The others had a right to be worried about finding a Head Alpha. From the way things have been looking, Sobel was there to stay with them for the long run, or, as long as they could go before one of his mistakes got them killed. 

Just thinking about it made him seethe, and he resisted the urge to touch the scar running along his right cheek. 

Gene knew Sobel was aware of the pack forming, and that Gene has been chosen to be it’s Omega. Sometimes he would get chills on the back of his neck, only to see Sobel staring at him from afar. There was no way in hell his mouth was ever going to get close enough to Gene’s neck to even breath on it, let alone mark him, but until he leaves Easy Company, and they’re able to pick a real Head Alpha, the men would be too distracted and worried to function properly. He could already feel the anxiety coming from them as each day moved closer to jumping, and each day Sobel was still among them. 

Gene shook his head to clear his thoughts. There was no point of constantly mulling over things he had no control over. Whether Sobel was staying or leaving was not his decision.

He was able to shove his way to the line at the gangplank, taking in the last moments he would have on American soil. New York was never a place he was particularly interested in seeing. He much preferred Bayou Chene to a big city any day. Cities were polluted, crowded, and loud, but right now, while boarding a ship that would take them far away from their homes, it was beautiful.

He subtly breathed deeply through his nose, trying to catch probably his last breaths of fresh air before he was stuffed onto a floating madhouse, when a familiar scent of cheap cologne came wafting through the air. He rolled his eyes when a body was pressed against his back, and a warm breath was blown into his ear.

“Remember me?” a voice whispered, as the body belonging to the voice walked around Gene to stand in front of him. He was met with the sight of none other than the private that harassed him by the trucks the other day. Adams, he believed his name was. 

“Our time together was interrupted the other day, how about I make it up to you?” the private spoke while bringing a hand up to stroke Gene’s cheek. He was barely able to graze the skin before smacked his hand away.

The Alpha chuckled, “Feisty, I like that,” he picked up the bag he set on the ground, and continued his way up the gangplank, “See you on the ship!” he called back, before he disappeared among the sea of men.

Gene glared in his direction, knowing the normally friendly phrase was really a promise to somehow get him alone. 

He lifted his bag higher onto his shoulder and continued walking, there was really nothing he could do about the private besides avoid him.

Once he made it onto the deck, ahead of any of the other Easy men, he made his way to the side of the ship that would show the Statue of Liberty when they left the shipyard. There would be plenty of time to explore later, whether they were going to England or North Africa, it was going to be a long trip. He found a spot against the wall that wasn’t too crowded. There were still men trickling in, so it was bound to fill up soon, but as long as he had a place to smoke, and room to relax, then he didn’t mind.

He put a Lucky Strike between his lips, and started searching through his pockets for a match or lighter. When he turned up empty on every pocket he could possible go through on his uniform, he realized that he must have put them in his bag. With a sigh, he leaned against the wall behind him, keeping the unlit cigarette in his mouth for at least the feeling and slight taste. 

He didn’t have to stay like that for long, since not even a minute later, a throat was cleared rather loudly to his left. He looked over to see an Alpha that couldn’t have been any older than 18, probably wasn’t even 18, holding out a Zippo lighter. It looked oddly placed in the young boy’s hand, but even his 16 year old brother smoked from time to time (whenever Ma wasn’t around, of course), so he wasn’t about to turn it down. Especially when he was saving Gene the trouble of looking through his bag.

The small Alpha held the lighter out for him, letting Gene dip his head to let the end of his cigarette hit the flame. He took a long drag, letting the drug calm him as he watched the smoke blow from his lips, and be swept by the wind. He looked back at the other soldier and nodded.

“Thanks, kid.”

The Alpha scowled at the word, “I’m not a kid, I’m 20.”

Gene laughed lightly, “Whatever you say. If the Army believes it, than I won’t question none.”

“You better not,” the younger soldier snorted, “I could put an Omega like you in it’s place any day.”

“Hey,” Gene spoke with authority as his head whipped around to stare down at the kid, “that’s enough. You migh’ think this tough guy act will impress the older Alphas, but you’re wrong. It’ll just get you inta more trouble.”

The younger Alpha looked down in shame, like his own mother just scolded him for his behavior.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered in a low voice, reminding Gene of his little siblings whenever he yelled at them for their stupid and dangerous antics. 

He smiled at the memories that came pouring in, and reached out to ruffle the smaller one’s hair. 

“Don’ worry ‘bout it. Jus’ make sure you do your job, and have these men’s backs, and you’ll have their respect.”

The other quickly looked up at him, shocked by the kind advice. Gene smiled to reassure him, causing a blush to spread across his cheeks.

Oh my god, here we go.

“Thank you!” he stuck out his hand, “My name is Wilson, Thomas Wilson, but my friends call me Tommy!”

Gene was taken aback by the sudden switch in his mood, but shook his hand anyways.

“Eugene Roe.”

Wilson’s eyes widened, “You’re Easy’s Doc, aren’t you?”

Gene raised his brow, “Is there a reason you know that?”

The younger Alpha looked at his scar uneasily, “Oh, um, your name has just been around lately.”

“Oh yeah,” Gene tapped the butt of his cigarette to shake some of the ash off, “and what have they been saying?”

They blush spreading down his neck said it all.

“Nevermind, I don’t even want ta know.”

Wilson seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. 

Gene looked back at the water, catching glimpses of the view of the city as the men began to pile in groups in front of him. He wanted to relax out there as long as he could before it was time to go under to get some rest, or at least, as much rest one could get in an over stuffed room of soldiers. 

But it was looking to be difficult to just close his eyes for a few minutes, since someone else's eyes wouldn’t stop staring at him. 

He tilted his head to look back at the starry eyed Alpha, “Can I help you with somethin’?”

Wilson quickly shook his head, “Oh no! I feel fine!”

“I didn’t mean physically, I jus’ want ta know if I can do anythin’ to make you stop staring at me.”

“Oh!” he jolted back a little in an attempt to give Gene space, “I’m sorry! I didn’t even realize...you’re just so...I just really like looking at your face!”

Gene continued to stare at him.

‘Wait, that came out wrong. What I’m trying to say is that you’re pretty! But not in a weird way, like I would do anything about it, just that I like looking at you…ok, that is weird. But I really don’t mean it to be! You just seem like a nice person to talk to, and I’m really messing this up, so I’ll go before I embarrass myself even more.”

The younger man started to walk away before Gene was even able to get a word in. He had half a mind to just let him leave, so he could finally have some peace, but he couldn’t help but picture a puppy that’s just been thrown out of a home as he watched the other’s back.

With a sigh, he called out to him, “Wilson, come back.” 

As if he was calling out to his own dog, Wilson was right back at his side, wagging his imaginary tail.

Gene couldn’t stop the tiny laugh from coming out at the image“You don’t have many Omegas where you’re from, do you?”

Automatically, the imaginary tail seemed to droop, along with two fluffy ears Gene pictured on top of his head.

“We have a hand full, but they never look at me. I’m too small, too weak, too everything. The one I really like never even glances at me,” all of a sudden, his attitude switched to a more confident Alpha, “But that’s why I joined the paratroopers! So when I get home I’ll be the strongest Alpha in town, and he’ll have to notice me, right?”

Now Gene was starting to get it, and he couldn’t help but feel bad for him. He sure as hell hoped no one at home was risking his life for him.

He sighed. He couldn’t believe he was about to give a kid relationship advice.

“Look,” he really didn’t even know where to begin, “have you even tried talking to him?”

The other shook his head solemnly, “No, what’s the point? If he wouldn’t look at the other Alphas, then why would he look at me?”

“Well, then that’s your problem. If you’ve neva even introduced yourself, then how do you know if the other likes you or not?”

“So when I get home, you think I have a shot?”

“I’m sayin’ you’ll neva know unless you try. And if it doesn’ work out,” he shrugged, “then there are others out there.”

The younger man seemed to perk up at his words, and stood up straighter, “You’re right! I’ll start a letter to him right now! The last I heard, he was a cook in a camp in Australia!”

He started to march off in confidence, making Gene breath his own sigh of relief. That was probably the most uncomfortable experience he’s ever had, and he had to help his Grand-Mère with a birth when he was 12. 

Apparently, it wasn’t over either.

“What do I say?” 

The sudden, yet familiar voice made Gene jump. He had to refrain himself from groaning in annoyance, or throwing the kid off the ship.

“I don’ know, ask him how he’s doin’, I guess.” 

“But is that to subtle? What if he thinks I just want to be friends? Or maybe I’d be coming on too strong! What if it feels like I’m poking into his business? Or what if he doesn’t even remember me? What if he thinks I’m just some creepy stalker? Or what if...”

The questions kept pouring out of the Alpha, making Gene want to bang his head against the side of the ship. However, the more he talked, the more Gene realized how much he actually cared about this mysterious Omega. 

He laughed inwardly. He’s never really seen this sort of thing from this point of view, usually it was his sister talking to him about her latest crush on, in her words, ‘the cutest Alpha to ever step foot in the bayous’. The memory made him smile.

“Just write whateva comes to you.” he finally interrupted, not at all feeling bad about it either.

Wilson nodded, “You’re right, I’m just gonna do it,” he took a step as if he was finally going to leave Gene to his peace, when he turned around one last time, “Uh thanks by the way. I guess I’ll see you around, right Doc?”

The use of his nickname, plus the hopeful look in the other’s eyes made it almost impossible to say ‘no’. 

He smiled around his cigarette, and bumped the smaller Alpha’s shoulder, “Yeah, I’ll see ya around, kid.”

While the other looked put out by the use Gene’s favorite word for him, he nonetheless beamed up at him, before making his way through the crowd of men. Gene watched his back disappear, before leaning his own against the cool metal behind him, and closed his eyes. 

He finally had some time to himself.

He must have dozed off to the sounds of the waves and constant chatter, however, because the next thing he knew the ship was moving, and someone was shaking him awake.

“Come on, Doc, you’re gonna miss it!” came the unmistakeable voice of Perconte in his ear.

He blinked eyes lazily. He had just enough time to notice his designated ‘bodyguards’ at the time, Liebgott and Toye, standing to either side of him, before he was pushed towards the railings where everyone else was huddled. 

Luz, who was the first to notice him, grinned, seemingly forgetting their short conversation at the dock, which he was grateful for, “Hey, Doc, nice of you to join us,” he tilted his head in the direction where everyone’s eyes were locked to, “bet you’ve never seen that in the bayou, huh.”

Gene could only shake his head as the giant statue seemed to loom over them, despite being far away. It served as a last reminder to the men for what they were fighting for, why they were leaving, and what they’ll hopefully come back to. It was almost too hard to look at, but even harder to look away from. 

Everyone’s eyes stayed on the Statue of Liberty until she was way out of sight, taken away by the evening smog. The last picture of America that some of them would ever see.

“Let’s go find our bunks, Doc,” Luz spoke while patting his shoulder, breaking the moment of silence the men seemed to form subconsciously. Wanting to drop his sack off some place, Gene followed the group of Easy men. 

Gene walked in his usual silence, listening to the conversations around him, but never partaking in any of them, only the occasional smile when he found something Luz said amusing. He almost made it the whole way there without speaking a single word, when a certain Skip Muck slid in beside him.

“I’ve got some good news, Doc!”

“Oh yeah,” he flicked his cigarette off the side of the ship, “and wha’s that?”

“Our bunk mates switched!”

Gene scoffed, “And how’s that any kind of news?””

“Because, instead of sharing with our expert marksman, no offence to Shifty, you get to bunk with…” his hands gestured in a way that Gene couldn’t tell if he was trying to get him to guess, or pointing towards himself. To make sure it wasn’t the later, Gene put on his best, cold glare that his siblings have told him could freeze hell over. It was normally reserved for privates who annoyed him while he was trying to do his job, or weren’t taking theirs seriously. At the moment, it was to protect his sanity from having to share the same sleeping space as Skip Muck. 

Muck, in return, immediately put his hands up in mock surrender, “Jesus, Doc, I didn’t mean me! Although it stings that you would think badly of me, right here,” he patted where his heart would be under his skin.

Gene enjoyed the way he seemed to swallow his fear when his gaze sharpened.

“It’s Penkala, not me! Please stop looking at me like that!”

Gene’s softened his stare for the others sake, but still looked at him suspiciously. While it really didn’t matter to him who he was sharing a bed with, since they weren’t actually sleeping together, just switching who got to sleep in it every night, the fact that Muck so obviously switched everything around to have him share with Penkala had him worried. 

“Is there a reason for any of this?”

“Would you believe me if I said I’m just an incredibly good wingman?”

“No.” because while he wouldn’t put it past Muck to do such a thing, he looked a little too worried for just helping his friend out.

“Ouch, Doc. You’re one harsh Omega sometimes, you know that?” he said with a laugh, but immediately sobered up when he realized Gene wasn’t laughing with him. 

“He’s really seasick at the moment,” he finally started to explain, “We know that you wouldn’t actually be sleeping with him, but Malarkey had this idea that the days he does get the buck, he’d be able to rest because of the smell of, well um, you’re pretty much like...you know.”

Gene knew he wanted to say pack Omega, but was thankful he didn’t. The embarrassment of hearing it a second time in one day would be too much. However, he was the company’s medic if anything else, and it was his job to make sure the men could perform at their best, no matter where they were. 

“Where is he now?”

“Laying in his bunk, trying not to lose his lunch.”

Gene nodded in thanks, and moved past the crowd of men to find Penkala. Behind him, he heard Muck completely switch topics to naked native Omegas in the Pacific. He rolled his eyes, and kept pushing forward. He had a sick Alpha to find.

After a good fifteen minutes of looking up and down rows of bunks, he was finally able to spot a curled up Alpha resting only two rows up from the ground. When he walked over to him, he saw that the other was fast asleep. He took a minute to scan his face. He took note of his paleness, tinted a hint of green, and the ways his face seemed pinched. While the Alpha looked uncomfortable, Gene was just relieved it wasn’t something more severe than seasickness. 

He sighed, and began to gather his things to find a hall to at least sit in for the night, and with the way Penkala looked, he might end up needing the bed more than him anyways for the trip. He turned to leave when a soft groan sounded behind him. 

“Doc?” came Penkala’s groggily voice.

“Yeah it’s me,” Gene spoke while stepping closer to the bunk, “How you feelin’?”

“Shitty,” he responded truthfully, “Did Skip and Don put you up to this?”

One side of Gene’s mouth quirked up, “While I would like to say I jus’ came upon you lookin’ like this, I was informed that we are now sharing this bed.”

“Sharin-Damn, I told them to quit doing these kind of things.” he muttered while slowly trying to get up.

Seeing this made Gene act quickly to push him back down.

“What do you think you’re doin’?”

Penkala looked down at him with confusion in his eyes, “What do ya mean? I’m giving you the bed.”

Gene shook his head, “No you ain’t. You’re sick.”

“Yeah but-”

“I ain’t some dainty skirt who needs lookin’ after, ya know.”

“It’s still not right, you sitting out there, and me sleeping in here.” 

Gene pushed him down with more force, “Think of it as doctor’s orders, ‘cause it basically is.”

“Sorry to break it to you, Doc, but you’re not a real Doc, and this is barely a sickness,” Penkala responded with an equal amount of determination.

Gene gave him his best ‘Doc glare’, the one that scared his patients into listening to him, the one that basically whipped these Alphas back into place when they were reckless or bothering him, the one that Penkala seemed to have no problem standing up to at the moment. 

Realizing that neither one of them were going to budge on the subject, Gene settled for the next best solution.

“Fine then,” he dropped his pack at the foot of the bunk, figuring Penkala’s would be a good enough pillow for the two of them, “scoot over.”

The way the other’s eyes widened was almost comical, the same went for the blush that spread throughout his face.

“What?!”

“I said scoot over.”

Penkala could only stare with his jaw hanging as Gene grabbed onto the bars holding up the bunks above them.

“Are you goin’ to move over, or am I goin’ ta have to sleep on top of you?”

The Alpha mutely shuffled over, never taking his eyes off of the medic Omega as he lifted himself onto the bunk. 

Gene would admit that it was a tight squeeze, they would both have to lay on their side, but in his mind, it was better than having Penkala heaving off the side of the ship all night. Once he got situated, he figured that it wasn’t even that uncomfortable, he just felt bad for the poor soldier that had the bunk next to them, and would have to crawl over their bodies.

Facing towards the other’s chest, Gene inhaled the scent of burning firewood with a hint of cinnamon. It was a very homey kind of smell that left Gene with a sense of warmth flaring in the pack gland that sat in his neck. 

Gene could definitely say that he was beginning to get comfortable, but he couldn’t speak for his bunkmate, who was stiff as a board, and still staring down at him in shock. 

“You betta not try anythin’,” was the first thing that came out of Gene’s mouth. Unfortunately, it did not cut the tension Penkala was holding onto, and the nerves he seemed to be having actually made him look greener. Feeling guilty, Gene took the other’s hand in his.

“Hey, relax, Penkala, I was jokin’. Just try to sleep.”

After inhaling the scent of the Omega, the Alpha calmed down, and closed his eyes. 

Watching Penkala’s chest even out to slow, spaced out breathes caused Gene’s own eyes to begin to close. Lying there next to Penkala reminded him of how he used to comfort his siblings when they were sick, tired, or scared for any reasons. He almost had the urge to run his fingers through the Alpha’s hair, like he would do for his littlest brother, but refrained himself, even though Penkala probably wouldn’t complain about the gesture. 

He was close to completely drifting off, slipping further away from the zone where you could still hear everything around you. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t at home taking care of his siblings, he was in the bottom of a ship filled with thousands of other soldiers, mostly Alphas with high testosterone levels who couldn’t go a day without a fight.

The shouts he heard come from down the hall made him want to take the bag they were using as a pillow, and pull it over his head. 

“What’s all that about?” he heard below him

“Gonorrhea called Sobel a Jew. Liebgott took offence ‘cause he’s a Jew too.”

“Fighting over Sobel. That’s smart.”

Gene had to agree with the soldier’s sarcasm. While it was his job to provide first aid to the men, he wasn’t going to do it if it was a fight over Sobel. Turning his head slightly, he figured they would agree with him, and only get him if it was serious, suffering through his cold shoulder treatment along the way. 

He faced back towards Penkala when he felt the Alpha shift, trying to see over Gene at the fight. Gene, in return, pushed him back down.

“Go back ta sleep, Penkala.” 

The Alpha nodded groggily at the order, probably not even hearing what Gene really said.

He also laid back down, and was able to drift back to his former state. Somewhere between blacking out, and listening to the sounds of men quieting down, an arm was thrown across his waist. He jumped slightly, and looked up to be face to face with his bunkmate. Taking note of his heavy breathing, Gene realized that he was still sleeping, and must have moved his arm subconsciously. He tried wiggling his body, seeing if the appendage would move on his own, but that only seemed to make the Alpha hold on tighter. 

Gene sighed, and decided that he might as well get comfy how he was, since there was no possible way he could move anyhow.

He knew it was going to be embarrassing in the morning, and that most of the men of Easy would either complain Penkala getting special treatment, or want to take a picture of the two of them (Muck). But right then and there, he could care less, because the warmth that started on the right side of his neck spreaded throughout the rest of his body. He could tell with each inhale of a fellow potential pack member that that night, stuck in a room with not enough beds, no personal space, and no fresh air, would be the most peaceful sleep he would get since his first day at Toccoa. 

That night, he realized that it would be the little things that would get him through the voyage, and the war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yes, Gene literally sleeps in the same bunk as Penkala.....you guys didn't think I meant anything else, right? ;)
> 
> Samaria was too small to fit enough bunks for all of the men, so they would take turns who got to sleep at night. Some of them even slept on the decks or in hallways.
> 
> Private Adams and Wilson are not major characters, but they will play a big role for Gene in later chapters. They are not main character, though, and will leave soon.
> 
> I hope you guys don't mind the Penkala/Roe I've been pushing here, the main relationship of this story is definitely Baberoe, I just think Penkala and Gene would be cute together, maybe as a one-shot or something like that.
> 
> Have you guys ever seen [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsTxKGwm7y4) video? It gets me so hyped to write Doc Roe stories, I just thought I would share it if you've never seen it. I seriously watch it more than five times a day XD
> 
> I've been watching so many Western revenge films lately, could you guys just imagine Easy Company as outlaws or bounty hunters in the West? Just picture it....
> 
> Ok, now I'm rambling, hahaha, I'll see you next time!


	7. Currahee 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The voyage comes to an end, but not a happy one.
> 
> Warning: Attempted Rape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No disrespect is meant towards any of the real men of Easy Company. This is based off of the HBO series, plus my own mind.
> 
> Hey guys, so sorry this took so long. School has just been, well, you know, school, lol. 
> 
> But this is finally here, and I hope you enjoy it! This chapter was so hard for me to write, I just couldn't get the words out, so I'm sorry if this one sucks. It was such a mental block. 
> 
> As always, your feedback is amazing! I hope you guys like this chapter, I'm just so iffy on it, but I didn't want you guys to wait anymore, because you've been so patient! I still hope you enjoy it!

Gene was right about at least one thing after the first night with Penkala. Many men did end up complaining about having to sleep on the deck every other night instead of “cuddling with their Omega”. 

Most of the whining came from Luz and Talbert, but after seeing how little their words affected him, they quickly switched tactics to making Penkala blush. Phrases such as “Did you even get much sleep last night, Penk?” or “Are you the little spoon or the big spoon?” became more common than the constant complaints as the days went on.

Not like Penkala needed any more slack about his sleeping arrangements. His two buddies loved to remind him every morning on how ‘sweet’ he smelled. Gene would just roll his eyes at the immature jabs. It was their idea in the first place, and since they were literally sleeping together in the same bunk, they were bound to have their scents rubbing off on each other. Gene doubt it was even noticeable, with how rancid everyone was beginning to smell, and only cold, salt water showers being offered every now and then.

Gene wasn’t even surprised when his and Penkala’s arrangement was still talked about after the first week at seas. There seemed to be only four things to do on the ship to occupy time: eat, sleep, gamble, and gossip.

Sobel tried to add calisthenics to the small list, but that quickly fell under the longer list of ‘Sobel’s Stupidest Ideas’. With the deck being so small, there being thousands of soldiers, and waves rocking the ship like a crib, most men seemed content to just sit in the back, and watch the others move around like newborn fawns.

However, they would make bets on things like ‘Who would get chewed out by Sobel first?’, or ‘When will Sobel give up and storm off?’, or even ‘How long would it take Sobel to notice Luz mimicking him behind him?’, so he guessed it could fall into the gambling category if anything.

As a week went past, and Sobel’s workouts being more of a comedy routine than an actual training session, it could only be said that the men were getting restless, and soon enough, a new, more disturbing pastime was added to the list. All he could say about it was, what do the higher ups expect when you put about one hundred Omegas in a small, crowded, space full of thousands of Betas and Alphas? Unlike the fairy tales parents read to their kids, most Omegas don’t like to hold onto their virginity until the right prince comes, and an Alpha has no patience for that kind of romance anyways, especially when they were being shipped to war. So, despite it seeming to be morally wrong, it wasn’t uncommon to hear moans and grunts coming from dark hallways, or closed closet doors.

Gene became so used to the random sex sightings, he learned to walk right past it. They were usually seen in the most secluded parts of the ship, anyways, and Gene tried to avoid those places as much as possible. However, that didn’t stop people from propositioning him _. _

They never got too far, though, since there was usually an Easy Alpha around to cart him around somewhere. Everyday, he would have an Alpha escort him to his meals, and then walk around the ship with him. He never really put much thought into it, until the very last night of the whole voyage.

He was standing in line for dinner, trying not to gag at the overwhelming stench of fish stew combined with men who haven’t been able to change their clothes in two weeks. Despite the terrible smell, it was obvious people were able to overlook it due to excitement. A rumor went around that that would be their last meal on the ship, meaning they were either running out of supplies, or they were landing in the morning.

Gene was, of course, also excited. He couldn’t believe he got through the entire voyage without one incident, and he was just glad to finally get some personal space again.  

It was immediately proven to him that he spoke too soon when he felt a foreign body press up against his back. The smell that wafted into his nose wasn’t bad, definitely an Alpha, but wrong at the same time. It made him scrunch up his nose in distaste. Or maybe that could have been caused by the arms that seemed confident enough to settle around his waist.

“You’re so pretty,” the arms moved from his waist to grasp his arms, “How about you and me make this trip just a little more  _ enjoyable _ .”

Gene cringed as the last word was followed by a warm breathe in is ear. The unknown Alpha began to tug him towards the exit, his lips getting dangerously close to his bonding gland. Gene barely moved his arm, ready to elbow the bastard hard in the gut, when all forms of contact were cut off suddenly.

Gene turned around, only to find Guarnere holding the invasive Alpha by his shirt.

“What the fuck do ya think you’re doing?”

The Alpha in question put his hands up with a cocky smile, “My bad, I didn’t know he was taken.”

Guarnere scoffed, “Just get the hell outta here,” and pushed the Alpha away.

The private stumbled, and glared at Guarnere. It was clear through his gaze that his natural Alpha instincts were aching for a fight of dominance. However, as soon as the look crossed the other’s face, it was again, replaced by the same cocky smile.

“No problem,” he moved his eyes towards Gene, “See you around, sweetheart.”

Gene heard Guarnere shout back, “Just try it, buddy!” but mainly kept his focus on the back of the strange Alpha, finding the confrontation a little too personal. His suspicions were confirmed when the stranger sat down at a table full of four other Alphas, including none other than Private Adams, all of whom were staring at him.

Gene shot them a glare, causing most of them to smirk and give a little wave. Not wanting to egg them on, Gene slid past Guarnere to find a table. Unsurprisingly, Guarnere followed.

“Tch, can you believe that guy?”

Gene hummed in response, ignoring all of the stares he was getting around the room. It was hard, though, since Guarnere found it necessary to growl at every one of them.

“Yeah, well, if you ever run inta an Alpha like that again, just get one of us, ya hear?”

“Sure,” he replied just to get the Alpha off of his back. All he wanted to do was sit down, eat his dinner peacefully, and then find a quiet place on the ship away from all of Easy’s stifling Alphas.

Guarnere glanced down at him, “We were thinkin’...maybe you shouldn’t wander alone anymore. You should always have someone from Easy with ya, just in case, especially when we land in Limey’s territory.”

_ ‘There, an empty seat, finally,’  _ he thought, and began to make his way over to the empty spot, when an hand reached out and stopped him.

“Come on, Doc, we saved ya a seat over here,” and Guarnere began dragging him to a table full of Easy boys. Grant, Talbert, Randleman, Christenson, Hoobler, and Martin were all staring at them expectedly. Even Toye was at the table, with two empty chairs next to him. Gene could only guess who got the middle seat.

Feeling a sudden rush of embarrassment, Gene ripped his arm out of Guarnere’s grip.

“No thanks,” he said quickly, and turned around to head to the other empty seat.

He didn’t make it far before a new pair of hands reached for his shoulders to turn him around.

“Come on, Doc,” came the over friendly voice of Luz, “Let’s eat together! I’m starving!”

In the rush of the moment, Luz was able to pull him halfway to the Easy table, Guarnere an overbearing presence behind them.

Before they were able to make it there, however, everything just came crashing down on him at once.

Guarnere waiting for him, a table full of Easy men he knew already ate hours ago, Luz waiting behind as backup in case he tried to walk away, and what about all of the other times? How many times during the whole trip had he ever been completely alone? He couldn’t think of one moment. There was always a member of Easy with him, watching him, following him.

To them, he wasn’t their combat medic, a soldier, a brother to rely on. He was an Omega. Something weak, something they obviously couldn’t trust alone. It was embarrassing.

_ ‘Degrading.’ _

Anger welled up inside of him, spreading throughout his body, and making his spine go momentarily numb.

He stopped walking, causing Guarnere to run into him, and Luz to look at him with confused, puppy dog eyes.

“Doc? What are you-”

Luz’s words fell short when Gene lifted up his head. The poor lighting in the ship casted shadows over his face, his eyes appearing even darker, and yet, full of a fiery rage. However, the worst part was his smell. From chocolate and cajun spices, a unique scent of sweet and spicy, to something sour, like a candy that would make you pucker your face. It was a subtle change to people who’ve haven’t been around the quiet Omega for over two years, but to the men of Easy, it was like a red alarm was flashing in their faces. It was distracting, different, and just plain  _ wrong _ .

“Hey, Doc, come on, what’s the matter?”

Feeling Guarnere’s hand touch his lower back caused a release of adrenaline, making Gene turn around to face the Alpha. Guarnere barely had time to take a step back before a tray of food was thrown at his chest.

The sound of the metal tray slamming to the ground made heads turn in their direction. The mess hall became encompassed in silence, not even the kitchen was running. 

The silence was broken when one, no named soldier decided to shout “Hey there’s a fight going on fellas!”, and soon, the whole room began repeating the chant “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Gene ignored them, though. He was solely focused on the Alpha in front of him. He saw anger well up in the other’s eyes. Dominance basically radiated off of him, like heat being blown into Gene’s face. He felt his muscles twitch, wanting to kneel down, to bare his neck in apology. His instincts begged Gene to be submissive, to save him from the wrath of a furious Alpha, but Gene resisted all of it.

He wanted Guarnere to get mad. He wanted him to start a fight, like he would with any other man who would do that to him. He wanted to be treated like an Alpha, like an  _ equal _ .

Guarnere was barely able to take one step forward in Gene’s direction, when Toye ran up to the angered Alpha. He put one hand on the Phillie man’s chest, and leaned in to whisper something in his ear.

Gene could see Guarnere’s fist shake, like he was using all of his willpower to not beat Gene into submission.

Finally, whatever Toye was saying must have gotten through to the other Alpha. Guarnere slowly breathed in through his nose, then slowly breathed out, releasing all of his anger.

Becoming irritated at the sight, Gene made his way past the two Alphas, dodging the hand that went to reach for his arm. He was sick of being dragged around.

He heard Luz call after him, but he acted like he didn’t hear him. He wanted out of the room full of arrogant, knot-headed Alphas.

On his way out, however, he failed to see five soldiers get up from their table to follow the lone Omega.

 

* * *

 

Gene wandered the ship, something he was used to doing after two weeks at sea, letting off steam along the way. By the time he made it to the stern, it was nightfall, and most soldiers were in a bunk, or finding a hallway to curl up in.

Of course, there still were a few soldiers having smokes, or shooting the breeze with some of their friends, but none of them were Easy men. Gene made it his mission to avoid anyone from Easy for the time being.

When he finally found a part of the ship void of any potential for human contact, all of his anger was gone, exhaustion taking its place. He leaned over the railing, arms resting against the metal bars, and stared into the dark abyss the ship seemed to be sailing on. The only way a person would know it was the ocean would be by the steady sounds of waves crashing against the side of the Samaria.

Gene smirked

_ ‘No wonder Penkala was sea sick.’ _

He then frowned,  _ ‘But I guess I won’t be there for him tonight.’ _

The thought was immediately followed by a feeling of guilt. He wanted to be with the Alpha, at least to get him through the last night vomit free, but he wasn’t ready to face the men of Easy, especially Guarnere. After leaving the mess hall, and separating himself from the situation, Gene was able to clear his head, and realize exactly what he had done.

He still couldn’t believe how quickly he lost his cool, just by being pulled around by two Alphas in his company.

_ ‘Being two weeks at sea must be really getting ta me,’ _ he thought as he shifted his focus to the sky. When he saw the billions of twinkling lights, he couldn’t help but let a small smile tug at his lips. Despite being miles from home, the night sky still looked the same as it did in the bayou. He closed his eyes and imagined he was back home, on the porch of his home, with his younger brothers wrestling in the grass, and his sister right next to him, naming every constellation in the sky she could. Meanwhile, his oldest sister and Ma would be in the kitchen cleaning up from dinner, going over bills, debating over which Alpha in town would be best for Gene and the family, and thinking of ways to convince him to accept the courting gifts-

A sudden gust of cold air caused a shiver to go up his spine, and snap him out of his memories. He looked out into the darkness, back towards U.S soil, where his home was. But with home came control, restrictions, and anxiety. All of the reasons he decided to leave home, and join the paratroopers.

However, it seemed he could never escape the image an Omega carries, not even in the army. But could he really blame the Alphas of Easy for that? They were only acting like how they were brought up to. How many times have they probably pushed down the Omegas in grade school, only to be scolded by their mothers in the proper way to treat an Omega (not that the scolding knocked all of the crudeness out of them)? How long has it been since they’ve all felt the pack form? How many Omegas have they met like Gene?

He sighed, watching the fog pool out of his mouth, and disappear into the night air. God, he would kill for a cigarette at the moment.

After a good twenty minutes of leaning against the railing, and debating about getting his pack of Lucky Strikes from his bag at the foot of Penkala’s bunk, or not, a yawn escaped his lips.

_ ‘I guess that answa’s that questions.’ _

Pushing off the railing, Gene decided to find a hallway to sit down in for the night, and worry about Guarnere in the morning. He knew from passing them often that most Easy men who didn’t find a bed that night would sleep in the hallways by the bunking rooms. Hopefully, he’d be able to grab his bag in the morning too.

As Gene was making his way through the ship, he began to hear footsteps behind him. Hearing no yelling for being up past curfew, Gene assumed it was just another private out for a smoke, and didn’t bother to turn around.

He made another turn, and saw another private he didn’t recognize leaning against the wall, tossing a switchblade in his hand. As Gene got closer, the Alpha kicked off the wall, and faced Gene head on, blocking the narrow hallway.

Gene slowed down to a stop, an uneasy feeling welling up in his stomach. He turned around, ready to head in a different direction, when he realized the first one was blocking the other side of the hallway, turning it into a cage. A cold sweat broke out down his neck, and his heart began beating a mile a minute, his fight or flight instincts taking in the situation. His eyes glanced back and forth between the two, trying to find any opening. If there was one thing he learned from being with Easy, it was to be ready for anything.

However, right as he opened his mouth to address the overbearing Alphas, he heard the squeak of a door opening behind him. He didn’t even have time to turn his head before a familiar pair of arms wrapped around his waist, and the smell of cheap cologne filled his nose.

“Did you miss me?”

Gene’s eyes widened as a hand was thrown over his mouth, preventing any kind of call for help. Not even thinking twice, Gene lurched forward, trying to break the grip that just seemed to tighten over his stomach. He went to drive his elbow into the other’s gut, when a new pair of hands grabbed his arm, and another pair grabbed his other arm. He began to kick out, anything to break away from the Alphas, and felt satisfaction well up inside of him when he got one of them.

“Jesus Christ, someone grab his goddamn legs!”

“Johnson, Davis! Stop standing around with your dicks in your hands and help!”

“If you idiots keep yelling, we’ll wake up the whole goddamn ship! What if any Easy men see us? They’ll break our necks!”

“Just close the fuckin’ door!”

In one, whole effort, Gene’s body was yanked into a room, the two privates in the hallway closing the door behind them.

When it seemed everyone was inside, he found his body turned around, and slammed into a wall. That’s when Gene finally came face to face with greasy hair, clouded eyes, and yellow teeth.

“I told you I’d see you on the ship,” Adams whispered into his ear, then licked a long strip up his neck. The feeling caused bile to rise in his throat, and to toss his head to the side to block access. A hand immediately shot up to clasp around his jaw, and hold his head in place.

“Now, now, don’t be like that, this could be so much fun for you too. You just need to kneel and bare your neck, like a good Omega.”

Lips were placed again on his neck, moving over the bonding gland, while a hand snuck its way up his shirt. The entire time, Gene struggled to get free. When the same pair of lips attached to his own, he took to opportunity to bite down. The small moment of victory was quickly squashed when a fist came flying across his face. Gene was pretty sure his nose crunching was heard throughout the room, but no one seemed to care as his head was slammed back into the wall, causing lights to flash in his vision.

“Let’s get this straight, bitch. You’re not getting out of here until every one of us has a turn in your tight little hole, so you better shape up, and just take it.”

Gene took the blood welling up in his mouth, and spit it into the other’s face. The Alpha calmly wiped it off as he backed up from the pinned Omega. For a second, Gene thought he would call the whole thing off, before a boot was thrusted into his stomach. Gene doubled over, and would have collapsed, if it wasn’t for the two Alphas still holding him up.

“Drop him, men, I’m about to put a bitch in his place.”

Gene fell to his knees when he was finally released, and had no time to get up as a full grown, Alpha body was thrown at him, pushing his shoulders to the ground.

“Does that feel better, Omega? Being beneath an Alpha, like you’re supposed to be,” Adams grunted while rocking his body against Gene’s.

The Cajun Omega went to move his arm, and push the other off, but they were immediately pinned down in bruising grips.

“No, we can’t have any of that, now can we?”

Adams’s eyes were directly connected to his, giving Gene the full view of the lust and want, no humanity left in there.

His gaze then moved towards other areas of his face.

“Red’s a nice color on you,” he dragged a hand across his lips, smearing the crimson liquid over his cheeks, “maybe we could add a little more?”

The hand seemed to come out of nowhere, but the effect was immediate. The pain seemed to exploded in his left cheek, enough to swell, but not enough to bleed.

“Hm, what a pity. Davis,” he spoke to someone behind him, “give me your pocket knife.”

Dread bloomed in Gene’s chest, and he began to struggle even more.

“So annoying. Johnson, Harris, pin his shoulders and legs down.”

“You better make this quick, Adams, I want my turn too.”

“Yeah, yeah, let me just make him pretty first,” cold metal stroked his face, the sharp edges of the blade digging in once in awhile.

Davis snorted, “God, you’re a psychopath.”

Adams’s gaze never left Gene, “Maybe, or maybe I’m just an artist,” the knife sank down right under Sobel’s scar, causing a new sense of shame to well up inside him.

“Don’t worry, doll, I’m just marking you up. You like that, don’t you,” the Alpha’s body began rocking against his again, making Gene gag at the feeling of the Alpha’s hardon against his leg.

“Yeah,” Adams’s hands began stroking his neck, before settling into a light grasp, “You just needed someone to show you your place,” the grip tightened, “well don’t worry,” he couldn’t breath, “I’m here now.”

The last words were followed by a low moan, and Gene could feel the wet spot spread across his pants.

“You came already? You really are a psychopath.”

“Shut up! I’ll be ready again any second now, then the real show begins.”

“What do you mean? That was your turn! Now it’s mine!”

“Why is it yours? I’m the one who found him after he left the mess hall!”

“I’ve been holding him down this entire time! He nearly kicked my teeth out! I should go next!”

“You guys need to shut the fuck up-”

The moment the grips on his legs and wrists were lessened in the slightest, Gene was ready. He jerked his knee up, instantly hitting the Alpha on top of him in the balls, causing Adams to go down.

When one of the other Alphas went to pin his legs down again, he was able to put a boot in his face, knocking him backwards. When his wrists were finally free, Gene spun around, landing a right hook to the unsuspecting private, giving him enough time to stand up, and get his bearings back. The last Alpha, Davis if he heard right, brought his fists up in hesitations, and took a timid swing at Gene’s head.

The Easy Omega was able to dodge effortlessly, and return the favor. Before seeing that the Alphas were just starting to pull themselves together, Gene booked it towards the door, and out into the hallway.

“Fuck, he’s getting away!”

Gene heard the sounds of footsteps, but didn’t even look back. He was moving like the snakes his brothers try to catch at home, taking as many turns as he could along the way. Finally, he stuck himself against the wall of a darkened corridor, becoming a shadow himself.

He heard more than saw the Alphas run past his hiding space, but he stood there, rooted to his spot, making sure there was no possibility of them coming back.

When he heard no noises for what felt like hours, but was really only five minutes, he let go of the breath he was struggling to hold in. He began to back up slowly, getting deeper into the hallway. He felt like he lost them the more he moved down, and was ready to bolt it towards the bunks, to safety, when he ran into a body behind him. The smell that engulfed him made his heart stop for a moment. He felt hands grab onto his upper arms, spin him around, and pull him in close.

_ ‘Fuck.’ _

“What are you doing out past curfew, Omega?”

_ ‘It’s Sobel.” _

Gene didn’t dare look at the other, nor could he find the words to speak.

Instead of reprimanding Gene for his behavior, the Captain breathed deeply through his nose. Gene finally looked up, only to see the normal brown eyes full of condemnation be replaced by dilated pupils full of possessiveness.

“Why do I smell another Alpha on you, Omega?”

Gene shivered as he felt the other’s hand move up his face, and graze over the new cut right below Sobel’s scar.

“You think you can replace me so easily?”

The hand on his face moved down to his jaw, squeezing it tight.

“You think I’d just stand by while you flaunt this new Alpha’s sent in my face?!”

Sobel thrusted his arm forward, causing Gene to be pinned against the wall behind him. He brought his hands up to pull at the appendage around his jaw, but that only caused Sobel to hold on tighter.

“I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist, what with all these Alphas surrounding you every day. It’s just in your nature, to put out for any Alpha who asks.”

Sobel brought him closer to his face, “You should’ve been smarter, though. You should’ve known you only belong to me!”

The Alpha brought his nose down towards Gene’s neck, scenting him. With a jolt, Gene realized he wasn’t scenting his pack gland, he was going right for his bonding gland.

Gene desperately tried to pry the hand off his face, but it was no use. When Sobel was done scenting him, it felt like Gene was just consumed with the Alpha’s scent. It made him want to be sick.

“It looks like we’re going to have to lay down some new ground rules, the men are obviously too much of a distraction for you, and you’re too much of a distraction for them”

Gene’s eyes widened at the sentence. It was obvious now that Sobel thought an Easy man had molested him, and, in his mind, it was consensual.

“So until I formally claim you as my Omega, and I become the Head Alpha, your relationship with them is strictly medic and soldier, nothing more, nothing less. You will not speak to them, unless I give you permission to, or they come to you with a legitimate medical reason. You will not engage in any activities with them unless it is during training. I will not see any bonds form with these men. That is what a medic does. That is what you will do. And most importantly,” he pulled Gene in closer, so much so that Gene could smell his dinner on his breath, “you answer only to me. Are we clear?”

Gene looked down. Sobel gave him a rough shake.

“I said, are we clear?”

“...yes, sir,” Gene muttered.

Sobel smirked, “Good,” and threw him away from his body, “Go wash up, it’s a disgrace that Easy has such a dirty Omega like yourself.”

“Yes, sir,” Gene responded numbly, and headed in the directions of the showers.

When he got there, he was thankful for how empty it was, and immediately stripped out of his dirty clothes. He stepped under the pipe, not even flinching when the freezing salt water touched his skin.

He was just grateful the shower covered up the tears streaming down his face.


	8. Currahee 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lipton's POV, the Alphas of Easy face the aftermath, Easy Company arrives in England, and the NCOs make a choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No disrespect is meant towards any of the real men of Easy Company. This is based off of the HBO series, plus my own mind.
> 
> Guys, I delivered! Here it is! And before Christmas!! I didn't think I'd be able to do it before Christmas, especially with finals, but it's here!!!! 
> 
> Thank you all for you're wonderful reviews and support like always!! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and there is another set of notes at the end!

If there’s one thing Lipton prided himself in, it was looking after his men. He didn’t think he deserved the nickname ‘mom’ (thanks for that, Luz), but he certainly made sure every member of Easy was taken care of.

However, out of all of the people he was expecting to give him problems throughout the war, Eugene Roe wasn’t one of them.

In fact, the soft spoken Cajun was usually the one to help him keep the others in line. With his doe eyes that could sharpen the second an Easy man was out of line, it was no wonder why these men followed every unspoken order given by medic.

(That, and he was almost their...well, he guessed it wasn’t quite that time yet.)

So, imagine Lipton’s surprise when Guarnere walks by with food down shirt, growling about said Omega. When he heard the words ‘bitch’ and ‘put him in his place next time’, Lipton knew something wasn’t right.

Following Guarnere was Toye, but when Lipton tried asking him what happened, the other just shook his head and followed his friend to their separate bunks. Lipton looked after them in confusion. It was obvious that something was wrong, very wrong.

While it wasn’t unusual to hear the Alphas of Easy make crude jokes about the Omega, it was normally just that; a joke. Hearing someone, especially Guarnere, bad mouth the medic with no humor involved was troubling. The emotional state of the company was already at a tipping point, Lipton could feel that much with the bond they were able to develop so far.

Sobel still being their CO, was something that had many men on edge. Not only that, but the man still had it in his head that he was going to be leading Easy into war as their Head Alpha. What was even more worrying was that it was looking more and more like a possibility every day.

Lipton shook his head to clear his thoughts. He couldn’t be thinking about stuff like that, it was bad for the company’s moral, and his own. What he really needed to focus on was why Easy’s only Omega was nowhere to be seen, and why Alphas of the same company were bad mouthing him.

He started to make his way out of the makeshift quarters, squeezing his way past men trying to get to their bunks before curfew, when he bumped into Luz.

“Whoops, sorry about that, Lip,” grinned the shorter Alpha, before shifting a little to the right to try and pass him. Lipton normally would have let him, if it wasn’t for the small amount of food splatter on the other’s shirt.

Immediately connecting his previous encounter with Guarnere, Lipton grabbed hold of Luz’s arm, speaking a quick, “Follow me,” before pulling the other Alpha outside of the room.

He heard a few men question him as he walked by, as well as hear the confusion in Luz’s voice as he struggled to keep up. When he finally found a mostly empty hallway, he stopped to face Luz.

Feeling the hold on his arm lessen, Luz ripped himself away from the grip.

“Jesus, Lip. I know I was almost past curfew, but that doesn’t mean you have to drag me halfway acro-”

“What happened to Guarnere?” Lipton interrupted.

The abruptness of the question caught Luz off guard, “Wh-What? What do you mean?”

Catching the way the shorter man’s eyes shifted away from his own, Lipton knew that Luz had an idea, or maybe even the full story, of what was going on with Guarnere and Gene.

Taking a step closer, he asked again, “What happened between Guarnere and Doc Roe?”

Lipton heard a barely audible growl escape the, normally, jokester of the pack. He wasn’t in the least surprise, though. No Alpha liked to be shown up by another Alpha. However, before Lipton could show his own show of dominance, a large grin split Luz’s face.

“Don’t worry Lip, it’s all taken care of! It was just a little fight between the two. I’m sure they’ll be fine by morning!”

Luz probably thought that’d be enough for Lipton, and that he’d let it go. If it was anyone else, he probably would have. But this was Gene, their medic, their Omega. It was important for the company that a strong relationship was built with the pack Omega. So he tried again.

“That doesn’t answer my question, Luz. Why was Guarnere walking around with food running down his shirt talking shit about Gene?”

Luz seemed to flinch at the description of Guarnere, his smile quickly turning into a tight-lipped frown as he scratched the back of his head nervously.

“Look...I don’t really know either. One moment we’re leading Doc to our table, the next he’s throwing food and stomping off. I wasn’t there for the whole thing, but when I did catch up to them, Doc seemed...tense.”

Lipton squinted his eyes at the other Alpha, trying to determine if that was all he knew. When he was sure that was all Luz knew about the situation, he sighed. That really wasn’t much to go on. He’d probably have to talk to Guarnere in the morning.

He was about to let Luz go back to his bunk, when a thought struck him.

“Luz,” he started carefully, “do you know where Gene went after the fight?”

Easy’s radioman gave Lipton a look as if to say, ‘Really? I’m not that stupid.’ He let it slide.

“Yeah, we had Bull go follow him. Found him by a railing near the back of the ship. We thought about talking to him, but Johnny said he probably needed time to cool off.”

Lipton nodded at the last part, agreeing with Johnny. It was clear their medic needed some time to himself, most likely because he was surrounded by Alphas 24/7.

“Ok,” he finally said after a moment of silence, “I guess we should get ready for tomorrow then,” and headed back towards the bunking room.

Luz tilted his head to the side, but started walking with him.

“You don’t want to go get him?” he finally asked, “It’s past curfew already, and he’s been out there for a long time.”

Lipton admitted to himself that the thought crossed his mind. They were the Alphas in the forming pack, and it was their job to look after their Omega. However, whatever was bothering Gene was clearly caused by being around Alphas, so he’d give him his space.

“He’ll be fine. Doc can take care of himself,” he answered.

Luz nodded, seeming to come to the same conclusion as his own.

They’d see Doc in the morning, finally off of the godforsaken ship, and he’d hopefully be in a better mood.

Besides, they’ve spent so many nights having at least one Easy Alpha near him with nothing happening. What could possibly happen to him the one night he doesn’t have some sort of bodyguard?

Probably nothing.

 

* * *

“So we’re in...Africa?”

“You fuckin’ idiot! Africa’s hot, does this feel fuckin’ hot to you?”

“Jesus Christ, I was joking!”

“I think we lucked out. We get to relax with some of the local British Omegas, while preparing to kill some Krauts.”

“This just means I get my shot at Hitler.”

“You know, in Harvard we learned-”

“Shut the fuck up, Webster.”

Lipton ignored the men as they made their way down the gangplank. Yes, they were in England, a war torn England that seemed to be just starting to repair their blown up city (he didn’t know what Liverpool was supposed to look like, but he was sure as hell it wasn’t supposed to look like this). So that did mean they were going to invade Germany, and fight the Nazis, he just didn’t know if that was a good thing yet.

Down in the docks, Lipton could see the trucks ready to take the men to the train station. Even though they were all going to the same place, it seemed that they were trying to organize based on Company. Most of Fox was already loaded onto their trucks, with Dog right behind them. He could see some Easy men hanging around the last few empty trucks, waiting for the rest of them to get down there. The rest of the 506 companies were probably still trying to get off of the ship.

Lipton was grateful for the organization, because he was still looking for their medic, who apparently, has been missing since last night. He thought for sure that Gene would return to his bunk after blowing off some steam, but when a confused (and worried) Penkala came up to him with, not only his pack, but their Omega’s as well, his anxiety levels went up.

The feeling must have spread to most of the members in easy, because, despite their joking attitude, he could see the heads looking around for jet black hair. Even Guarnere could be caught turning men around to get a good look at their faces. Luz, who was a couple of men in front of him, was twisting his head every which way and that to find the soft-spoken Cajun.

People who didn’t even know about the incident last night noticed the medic’s absence. Liebgott and Webster, in between their bickering, would frequently pause, and check with each other if they even thought a random soldier was Gene.

Skip and Malarkey were seen comforting Penkala, reassuring him that, “Doc’s just fine, Penk! We were on a ship, where else could he be but here?” and, “You’ll see, we’ll get on the trucks, and he’ll be grateful that you looked after his pack this entire time.”

Despite their efforts, they couldn’t hide their own worry in their faces.

He was sure by that point, the news of their missing Omega has spread to Lieutenant Winters, Lieutenant Nixon, and even Lieutenant Welsh, so he knew the situation would be resolved soon. He just hoped Gene would understand that him wandering off was not good for the company’s sanity, even if he did need some time away from them. Besides, when they invade Germany, it will be important for him to be with the company not only because he was their Omega (although, that was a big reason), but because he was their medic too, so he’d have to get used to the attention eventually.

He hoped Lieutenant Winters expresses that to Gene on behalf of the entire company.

It wasn’t until they were almost off of the gangplank and closer to the trucks when Shifty spotted him. The news was quickly passed around the Easy Alphas, as all turned their heads to confirm that, yes, that was Doc on one of the empty trucks. His back was facing towards them, head down, but no one could replace that raven hair and lithe body. From the smoke that was clouding around him only to be swept away by the wind, Lipton could tell he probably had a cigarette in his mouth too (which he, personally, never saw the appeal of them).  

Lipton was glad when he saw Lieutenant Winters approach the lone Omega, probably to tell him just how worried they all were, and how important it was to stick close to them. That’s what he would say.

However, the Alpha seemed to stop on his pathway to Gene, and sniff the air. Something did not seem right to him, Lipton could tell by his body language, but he pushed on. When he finally reached Gene, Lipton could see his mouth move. The sudden voice of their Lieutenant must have spooked the medic, because he gave a violent twitch before shaking his head. He still did not lift his head.

As Lipton got closer, he noticed more details in the conversation, like how Winters kept scrunching his nose, like there was a weird scent coming from somewhere. Finally, he must have gotten sick of Gene not looking him in the eyes, because he forced his own face into the other’s space. Gene immediately tried to turn his head away from the Alpha, which Lipton would have scolded him for if he was closer, but the Lieutenant put his hand on the Omega’s chin, and pulled it back towards him.

The emotion that shot across Winters’s face was nothing compared to what was being sent through the halfway made pack bond.

One could almost call it crippling, the way everyone froze, and looked in the direction of the Alpha and Omega. Confusion, fear, and anger all exploded in his mind, making his heart beat faster, and hands shake.

Lipton could see Winters’s hand swipe at something on Gene’s cheek, but Gene immediately pulled his face out of the other’s hand and put it back in the downward position.

The Alpha started talking frantically then, asking Gene questions that the Cajun just shook his head to.

At one point, there just seemed nothing left to say as Winters just stared at Gene, a look of hurt not leaving his face. Finally, Gene turned his face, and must have said something to the Lieutenant, because the hurt changed into a deep sadness.

Winters patted his arm, and walked away. Gene resuming his former position. By that point, they all made it off of the gangplank, and were loading their bags onto a separate truck. All eyes followed the Lieutenant as he made his way through them, heading towards Lipton himself.

Lipton tried not to make the surprise or confusion evident on his face as Winters patted his shoulder and whispered, “Don’t push him,” and walked the rest of the way to Lieutenant Nixon and Welsh.

Winters then whispered something to them, causing a dark look to come across both of their faces. All three of them turned their gazes to a certain individual sitting in a jeep up in front.

Sobel.

Of course it all had to do with Sobel, now, of all times.

Lipton sent his own dark look his way, hoping the Captain could feel the hatred being sent towards him.

Despite there being space open for Easy men in the trucks he walked by, he made his way towards their medic. He wanted to know what made their Lieutenant send those kinds of emotions throughout the bond link. From the group of people following him, he could tell he wasn’t alone.

The truck shook under the weight of each man stepping up onto it, but that still did not stir the still medic.

Lipton made sure he got a seat close to the Omega to ask him a few questions himself. Taking the spot directly next to Gene was Penkala, Skip and Malarkey not far behind. Lipton got a seat in pretty good speaking distance, with Luz sitting right next to him, probably just, if not more curious than Lipton was. In fact, as Lipton looked around, most Alphas from Easy that were close to the situation or Gene were on the truck, including Guarnere and Toye. They all looked between Lipton and Gene, waiting for one to make the first move.

Lipton took the chance to take in the medic. His face was still looking down, focused on the way a piece of twine with a cross at the end of it wrapped around his fingers. A cigarette was hanging loosely between his lips, and his hair was being blown in the September winds.

Lipton cleared his throat, but no sign from the Omega made him think he even noticed. So he tried again, but added a, “Doc?”

This time Lipton noticed Doc twitch, but not nearly as bad as when the Lieutenant spoke to him. He still kept his head down, but tilted it as if to tell Lipton he was listening.

“Uh I was just wondering where you were last night,” he started, “you missed curfew.”

Gene’s hold body seemed to tense up, his hands stopping the repetitive twirling motion. For a moment Lipton didn’t think he was going to answer, but then the motion started back up again, and he spoke, “Sorry, Sergeant, I was jus’ gettin’ some air. It won’t happen again.”

The answer was short, and obviously a lie, but before he could call him out on it, He caught Skip’s look from across from him. He was making little side glances towards Penkala, who looked ready to say something himself. So Lipton backed off to give him a chance.

Again, he didn’t think anyone was going to say anything at all, but the constant nudging in the ribs from Malarkey finally gave him confidence to speak.

“Hey Doc, I, uh, got your pack from our bunk in case you were wondering! I threw it in the truck…”

Gene hummed in response, probably not even hearing what the Alpha said, to engrossed in the string in his hand. This caused Penkala’s face to fall, and his shoulders to hunch slightly in disappointment. Not liking the state the Omega left his friend in, Skip tried again for him.

“Isn’t that nice, Doc? Your bag could’ve been left on the ship if it wasn’t for Penk, here! It’s a good thing he noticed for ya, or who knows what could’ve happened! Sobel would definitely reprimand you for your ‘carelessness’ or whatever.”

Right at the mention of Sobel, Gene tensed up again, but the words seemed to get through to him that time.

Slowly, he lifted up his head to face Penkala, and Lipton could basically see the blush move from his neck to his ears. Skip and Malarkey were nudging each other in excitement, and Lipton couldn’t help but laugh as the blush continued to move to the top of his head, making his skin ruby red, and then ghostly pale-wait what?

The look of horror that came upon Penkala’s face was so sudden, he had to look around to see if he was the only one noticing it, but everyone else had the same look. The bond was once again filled with confusion, fear, and anger, but this time increased tenfold as so many Alphas were feeling the same thing. Guarnere looked even more pissed than last night, but this time filled with more shock, Toye looking the same way. The usually joking Luz was shaking next to him, and when he looked over, he got a glimpse of the rage that was filling the smaller Alpha.

He finally returned his attention back to Gene. The Omega had a small smile directed towards Penkala, his eyes shining with gratitude and kindness, but they were sunken in, with dark circles under them, or at least one eye had dark circles. The other one was so purple, it was impossible to tell whether he was exhausted or just bruised. Probably both.

An angry red mark was blown up on his left cheek, leading downwards to a split lip that was just starting to scab over. His nose, while not seeming to be broken, was slightly swollen with a cut over the bridge of his nose.

Hand shaped bruises covered the Omega’s jaw, with another pair peaking out from the sleeves of his uniform.

There was even a new, deep cut, right underneath his old scar on his right cheek.

But what really pissed him, and everybody else off, was the hickey right over his bonding gland. Whoever did it didn’t bite down hard enough to really do anything, but it was an act of possession in the sickest form.

Then, it finally struck Lipton what the strange smell Winters caught onto before. The Omega’s normal spicy, chocolate scent was combined with four, unfamiliar ones, but a fifth scent really stood out to all of them.

It was Sobel’s.

The anger that consumed him was enough to take out him sidearm and shoot Sobel himself. He could tell from the looks of the other men that they would do the same. Even Easy men on the other trucks were affected by their anger, if Shifty’s look of death towards their Captain was anything to go on.

Gene must have noticed their rage, it was impossible not to, because he ducked his head back down, and started twirling the twine once more.

Lipton wanted to question him, yell at him, comfort him. It was like every Alpha instinct in his body was telling him to either be there for the pack Omega, or beat Sobel half to death, the company could finish the other half.

However, Winter’s warning was still ringing in his head.

_ ‘Don’t push him.’ _

He chanted that to himself throughout the entire truck ride, feeling Winters send out calming waves through the bond to the men. It helped in the sense that no one bothered Gene about his injuries,

But the killing intent coming from the Alphas of Easy could be felt throughout the entire train ride.

 

* * *

 

From Liverpool, the 506 made their way to Aldbourne, a place Lipton could only imagine seeing in fairy tale books. Even Webster expressed how he thought he woke up on a movie set, and the others just nodded their heads in agreement.

Looking around, all Lipton could witness as far as the eye could see were rolling green hills, small cottages with thatched roofs and rose vines on the sides, horses, cows, and cobblestone pathways.

In the words of Luz, “We’re sure not in Kansas anymore.”

No, they weren’t in Kansas, or Tocoa, or Benning, or even the U.S. But they were in their new home for the next nine months.

And what a nine months it was going to be.

The training schedule was basically like they were back in Tocoa: 25 mile hikes with full equipment, night operations, daily hour close combat exercises, training in map reading, chemical warfare, German weapons, and, of course, first aid.

The last one was by far the company's favorite time of the day, not only because they got to relax and talk to each other while bandaging one another up, but also because of who was one of the instructors in the class.

It was only to be expected that the company’s medics be volunteer teachers, what better way was there to teach 140 men the basics of medical assistance.

And everyone was always fighting for one certain medic’s attention.

It would have been funny, the way Perconte and Luz shouted for Gene when they were having troubles, even though Pepping was kneeling two feet in front of them expressing loudly, “Guys, I’m right here!”

Or even how Malarkey and Skip were once again trying to get Penkala in the Cajun’s good graces by drawing attention to his handy work, shouting things like “Penk’s a natural at this, Doc!” and “ Like teacher like student!”

Even Guarnere, seeming to have forgotten all of his anger towards the Omega, started making his old jokes again, frequently telling Pepping and Oats that if any bullet got near his pride and joy, he would rather wait for Gene to come around and take care of it.

The small talk, the jokes, the semi-real flirting, it was just like old times. During first aid training, they could forget they were halfway across the world, or getting closer and closer to war every day. They could kid around and talk to each other just like before.

The only differences were, well, first of all, they were sitting in a field surrounded by cows, second of all, elderly people and children would peak out of their cottages to get a good look at them, and third of all...

Their Omega was acting strangely.

During the train ride, Lipton made sure to tell the others to back off from Gene, and let Winters handle the situation. The last thing he wanted was to smother Gene so much that he closes off from them completely. Their pack bond was in a delicate state already.

However, whenever Winters approached the medic, Gene would simply ask if he needed any medical assistance, and brush off any other questions by saying he was needed in the aid station.

At first, everyone thought it was because Sobel was always watching when they were in the open. Lipton always got a creepy chill go down his spine whenever he saw Sobel’s stare at Gene intensely, and he wasn’t even the one being looked at.

Even when they were in morning line up, Sobel would always make a point of touching Gene. Whether it was brushing up against him to get to a man with a not so obvious infraction, or placing his hand on his shoulder while dismissing them, he was always there, placing some sort of claim on Gene.

One day, while walking between their lines, going through his normal rant about training and and weekend passes, he stopped right behind Gene, letting his hand curl around the back of his neck. Slowly, his thumb started to move back and forth, brushing over the pack gland ever so slightly.

No one let a single sound escape them at the sight, but Lipton saw more clenched jaws and white knuckles than he could count, himself included.

It was obvious to him, and probably to most of the others as well, what all the touching was for. It was to remind all of them, even Gene, that Sobel was in charge, and he wasn’t planning on leaving any time soon.

It infuriated Lipton, and gave him a great deal of anxiety as well, as day after day the jump came closer, and Sobel was still their CO. Even with all of his mistakes, and the way he seemed to mess up every single maneuver, the higher ups couldn’t get their heads out of their asses long enough to notice that a whole company was going to be slaughtered because of one man.

But despite all of that constantly being on his mind, there was one thing that worried Lipton more than Sobel, and that was Gene.

While never talkative, the Cajun always had a look to him that screamed ‘fierceness’. He took no shit from Alphas, making Lipton wonder fondly what he must have been like at home.

Nixon said once that Gene would probably only take an Alpha that could beat him in a race, and drop kick the ones that would give him a hard time about it. Even though it was a joke, most of the men believed it, especially because when Gene walked into the room, he gave Nixon the coldest glare for talking about him.

Even when Sobel gave him a hard time back at Toccoa, Gene had a way of going against the CO. He obviously couldn’t fight back, but the utter look of deviance on his face said it all . He may be an Omega, but he was not Sobel’s Omega.

It was that strength Gene had that made Lipton respect him, and even helped him unintentionally form a bond with him, just like he did with the others.

Now, as he watched Gene walk down a dirt path, head down, hands in his pockets, Lipton could tell that the spark the men cared for so much, was gone.

Lipton quickly glanced around, making sure Sobel wasn’t stalking the Omega nearby. Since he didn’t see the loudmouthed Alpha anywhere, and was pretty sure he was actually talking to Major Strayer about a cow incident, he took the chance to talk to their medic.

“Doc!” he called while making his way towards him. He was glad Gene got over the habit of jumping whenever someone approached him, but the blank look in his eyes was still unsettling.

“Can I help you, Sergeant Lipton?”

Lipton paused as he took in the Cajun’s pale complexion. Most, if not all of the bruising was gone, and even the cut under Sobel’s scar didn’t leave a mark, which everyone was grateful for. The only thing that seemed to remain from the incident was the dark circles under his eyes, which seemed to darken everyday.

“Sergeant Lipton?”

Lipton jumped as the Louisiana voice broke through his thoughts, but tried to cover it up with a kind smile.

“The boys and I are going to a pub and maybe dancing later tonight. I was wondering if you would like to join us this time?”

He hoped he didn’t sound too hopeful, but everyone has been trying to get him to go out since they arrived in Aldbourne. Of course, they did give him his space at first. Actually, most men were so pissed off from the ordeal, no one even wanted to go out. But as the weeks went by, and Gene seemed to be healing, more and more men started using their weekend passes.

They always invited their Omega too, hoping a night out would take his mind off of Sobel, and Lipton knew for a fact there was more than one Easy Alpha itching for a dance with him.

But whenever someone asked him to go out, he always had an excuse at the ready, and his eyes would flick towards Sobel for a brief second.

And while Sobel wasn’t around at the moment, Lipton was still prepared for the answer he received.

“I’m sorry, Sergeant, but my host is expecting me back to help with dinner tonight, and she can be one scary woman.”

Lipton gave a little laugh at the ending. During their briefing when they first arrived, they were told some of the customs to watch out for to avoid any disturbances. Apparently, Aldbourne was a very old fashioned town, and they were very skeptical of having unbounded Omegas in the same room as an unbounded Alpha, let alone fighting a war with them.

As a compromise, all of the Omegas were spread throughout houses owned by elderly Beta couples, or widowed Omegas. Gene got the short end of the stick by being put into a house ran by a very old fashioned Beta women, who felt like the Omegas were more useful doing housework than preparing for war.

Still, it wasn’t hard sneaking out of a house where the host fell asleep by seven, and wouldn’t wake up until six the next morning. Lipton new this, because Gene’s roommates were seen at the pubs all of the time.

Instead of calling him out on this, Lipton just nodded in understanding, Winter’s words of advice being played back to him like the Alpha said them yesterday.

But he still didn’t want to lose his chance of getting through to the Omega, so as the other walked away, Lipton reached out to him one more time.

“Gene!” he shouted, thankful that the sudden use of his first name caused the other to stop, giving Lipton a chance to catch up to him.

“Look,” he started hesitantly, “I know none of us can really understand what you’re going through, but…”

We’re worried about you.

Let us help you.

Give us a chance.

We need you.

The pack needs you.

“...I’m always around, in case you need to talk.”

The sentence didn’t nearly express how badly he and the others wanted to help their Omega, but he hoped the sincerity in his voice meant something to Gene.

From the way his eyes softened, he think it did.

“Thank you, Sergeant Lipton. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Lipton couldn’t stop the disappointment welling up inside him even if he tried, but he needed Gene to understand that they couldn’t go on like this. The constant anxiety they felt from watching Gene carry on with so much pent up sorrow, and him withdrawing from them, was putting strain on the pack bond that would break soon.

“Wait!” he called out one more time, just one more chance to make him understand.

“Please, if you’re not going to talk to me, or any of us, at least talk to Lieutenant Winters. He’ll be able to help you,” the ‘he’s been trying to help you’ was left unsaid.

He thought the medic would just put on a fake smile again and tell him he was okay, or agree to talk to him just to get Lipton to go away. What he didn’t expect was for a look of depression and confusion overcome the other’s face.

“You haven’t heard yet, have you?”

The question was asked so quietly, Lipton almost didn’t register what he said, but once he did, more questions just popped up in his mind, followed by a sick feeling in his stomach.

“Heard...Heard about what?”

Gene looked around, like he was making sure no one was around to hear the next words spoken, or, more likely, making sure that Sobel wasn’t around.

Lipton did a look around himself, confirming that there was no one around except for a farmer and his cows about 100 yards out.

In that time, the smaller man walked closer, getting close enough that Lipton could feel the body heat radiate off of him. He would have blushed, if the look on the other’s face wasn’t so distraught.

Gene leaned in, not close enough too close as to look like they were engaging in...suspicious activities, but close enough to hear the other if he spoke softly, which he did.

“Lieutenant Winters is gone,” he whispered.

Lipton looked what him in shock, “What?”  

Gene shook his head, “I don’t know the full story, I just know he was offered either a loss of weekend passes for 60 days, or trial by court-martial. He took the trial.

Lipton felt the whole world around him tune out, and all he could focus on was the hint of betrayal showing through the Omega’s eyes, and the ache through the bond at the idea of losing a pack member, and not just any pack member either. A potential Head Alpha.

“Who…”

Who would do such a thing?

Who would ruin Easy’s pack?

Who would tear them apart?

Gene seemed to understand all of these questions, and opened his mouth to answer, but that’s as far as he was able to go before his whole face turned into an ashy white, as his eyes focused on something behind him.

As Lipton went to turn around, he felt the presence of Gene disappear from behind him, and continue walking back to his host house. Lipton didn’t blame him, because sitting in a jeep at the beginning of the path was none other than Captain Herbert Sobel himself.

Lipton kept his face neutral, even though on the inside he felt an uncontrollable anger so strong, he felt the questions coming through the bond from multiple Alphas of Easy.

He couldn’t find himself to care, though, since Sobel was sitting right in front of him, a look so smug that there was no reason for Gene to reply to his question anymore. He had his answer right in front of him.

And that was it, that’s what they say was the straw that broke the camel’s back. First their pack Omega, and now their Head Alpha. It was clear what needed to be done.

Sobel had to go.

 

* * *

“After hearing all of this, who’s still willing to jump into combat with Sobel?”

Lipton looked around the room at the non-commissioned officers of Easy Company, waiting for someone to answer his question.

“Not me,” Guarnere finally answered, blowing a puff a smoke out through his nose.

“So we’re going through with this, right?” Grant questioned, although the excitement in his voice made it more of a statement.

Ranney leaned back in his chair, “We gotta do something.”

A chorus of agreements echoed around the table.

“Alright. Good. But we all better be clear of the consequences,” Lipton made sure to look at everyone in the eye at the last statement. What they were doing was serious, it was against everything they’ve learned about the Army, and they could be dead if it all went wrong.

“I don’t care about the consequences.”

Lipton immediately turned his gaze towards Martin, “John, we could be lined up against a wall and shot. Now, I’m ready to face that. And every one of us had better be too.”

He made sure to look around the table one more time, making sure that everyone understood that. When he locked eyes with Guarnere, the man voiced what everyone was thinking.

“I will not follow that man into combat. That man is not my Alpha.”

“Mine neither,” Bull agreed.

Lipton nodded at the table, understanding exactly what these men were feeling. When he looked up, he made direct eye contact with Grant, wanting his input.

Grant looked right back at him and replied with two simple words that seemed to sum up why they were even thinking about doing something so reckless in the first place, “For Gene.”

Lipton smiled, not even having to look around to know that everyone agreed.

“Alright. Then let’s do it.”

As if on cue, everyone took out a pencil and piece of paper from their jackets, Guarnere reading exactly what each one would say.

“I hereby...no longer...wish to serve...as a non-commissioned officer...in Easy Company.”

And while they were all called in the next day, threatened to be shot, lost Harris, and Ranney was demoted, the genuine smile and spark in Gene’s eyes when all of Easy got the news that Sobel was gone, was worth it.

It seemed that things were finally working out for the Easy pack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clear one thing up, since Gene kind of rejects the bond, he doesn't feel the emotions like the others can, not yet.
> 
> So I wanted to finish Currahee so bad this chapter, and I had it all planned out in my head. But this chapter was getting so long, and I thought it would be better to go back to Gene's POV for Upottery. So next chapter will definitely be the end of Currahee, and, depending how long that chapter is (and there's really not that much left in the first episode), it might be the beginning of Day of Days also.
> 
> Also, just to note, not all of the episodes will take up this many chapters. Episode one just had so much relationship building to do. Day of Days will probably be 3-4 chapters long. Carentan will probably be 1-2 chapters long, but then Babe will be here everybody! <3 <3 <3


	9. Currahee 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gene explains his attitude change, reacts to Sobel's disappearance, a little bit of Buck Compton is thrown in, some confusion involving a British soldier, letters from home, and the end of training.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No disrespect is meant towards any of the real men of Easy Company. This is based off of the HBO series, plus my own mind.
> 
> I told someone that this would be out this week, and I did not lie! Here it is, the end of Currahee! Sorry, this took so long. Just a combination of school, work, and writing for Gene. He is just so hard to write for lately. I hoped it turned out ok for you guys, I kind of struggled, but I believe I was able to express everything I wanted to happen at this point!
> 
> Thank you for all of your reviews, bookmarks, and kudos! I enjoy all of it, it really makes me want to write everyday! Just, thank you guys so much, it really means a lot to me!

It would take a lot for Gene to admit that the past couple of weeks have been exhausting. 

It turned out, he didn’t have to, since it was clearly written on his face.

He wasn’t blind, he could tell from the way the Company was always looking at him, like he was broken, tired, and just different. Gene didn’t even have the attitude to prove them wrong, mostly because that’s been exactly how he’s felt ever since the incident.

He really had no words for his attitude change, none at all. There was just some kind of fog across his mind, a crushing weight on his chest. It was like, after that night, his normal self was trapped in his own head, watching on as instincts took over. He would internally cringe in disgust whenever Sobel touched him. He wanted nothing more than to slap his hand away and cuss him out in French, like he’s done to all of the sleazy Alphas in his life.

But it was like his body didn’t want to listen to him. The part of his mind that harbored all of his Omega thoughts were in charge, and they didn’t want the last Alpha to show power over him to cause him harm. Unfortunately, no matter how much the thought disgusted him, that last Alpha was Sobel.

That meant, no matter how much Gene wanted to reach out to someone, be it Lieutenant Winters, Sergeant Lipton, or even Lieutenant Nixon, the last order he received from Sobel as an Alpha was to stay away from them, so his body listened.

Not that he would approach any of them. Sobel was Gene’s problem, and his alone.

Still, that didn’t mean he didn’t notice how much  _ they  _ tried to reach out to _ him _ . Lieutenant Winters, Nixon, and Welsh were always trying to pull him aside, get him to talk. The others tried too. They would tell jokes around him, ask him to go out, to dance, or go to a bar.

Once, they even let Webster ask him random history questions about Louisiana, only for Gene to tell him he never got past elementary school, and left him in the mess hall blushing bright red (Gene could admit he did laugh to himself about that later).

He even avoided Oats and Pepping, which wasn’t as hard as people might think. He only ever got to see the two Betas at the aid station for training, and they were always kept busy.

For weeks Gene thought he was handling the situation. With luck he hoped, when they finally jumped, Sobel would either be too invested in the war, or make a mistake that gets him killed.

(But with that thought, Gene would immediately remember that that mistake had a big possibility of getting more than just Sobel killed.)

It wasn’t until he heard that they lost Lieutenant Winters that he knew he couldn’t handle being quiet any longer.

So when Sergeant Lipton reached out to him, Gene went against every instinct screaming ‘Just ignore him!’ and ‘Alpha will be furious if he finds out!’, and told him simply that Lieutenant Winters was gone.

It wasn’t so much the words he hoped would get the message through. Rather, it was what he was trying to convey through his eyes. In that split moment he held the Sergeant’s gaze, he wanted him to realize how much it hurt that the other Alpha would just leave them to Sobel just like that. After everything they’ve been through together, and what they still had to go through together.

It was a moment of weakness for Gene, he’d admit that, and he realized how embarrassing the display was only a few hours later as he laid awake in his bed.

He tried to convince himself that he’d just have to take extra precautions of avoiding the Sergeant the next day, but then he began thinking ‘Who else would he tell?’

Gene let his defences down, something he rarely does, if he’s ever done it in the first place around the men. That was bound to be something that got around. It really shouldn’t matter too much, since he had been basically ignoring the entire Company anyways.

But what if it got back to Sobel? While the majority of Easy were good men, there were still a few that were loyal to Sobel, and reported every little worthwhile gossip that floated around.

The anxiety that came with those thoughts kept him up for the better half of the night, and even when Mrs. Walker barged into the room to wake him, and the other three Omegas he bunked with, his stomach still felt queasy..

That’s why when the older Beta asked for some help around the house before they had to leave for morning lineup, Gene jumped on the chance to hang back for a little awhile. He didn’t even care when his roommates booked it the minute she walked out of the kitchen. He needed some time to prepare himself, just in case Sobel did catch word that he spoke to Sergeant Lipton, and that,  yes, he wanted Lieutenant Winters back.

What he didn’t know at the time was that “helping around the house” really meant “keep the Omega busy so he can learn some really valuable lessons about taking care of a house, instead of preparing for an Alpha’s war.”

He found that out once he said he had to go, and she, quite serious, said, “Now sweetie, I know you have more common sense than those boys who just left. You listen to me. This war is no place for an Omega. You would be better off helping out on the homefront, like the rest of us. Get married, have children, give something that your Alpha can fight for. A young Omega like you should-”

He left with a quick “ _ Au re’oir” _

When she yelled back, “We’ll finish the rest when you get back!” he couldn’t help but rolled his eyes.

Should he feel bad for leaving her? Probably. Did his Mama just get a chill up her spine that seemed to tell her whenever Gene wasn’t acting like a “good and proper Omega”? Most definitely.

There was a time when he would have left with a  _ “Beck moi tchew _ ,” but his Mama quickly beat that out of him, saying that, if he kept that up, no one would want to marry him.

He had a feeling if his Mama was here, she’d be dragging his ass back to the house to “finish what he started.”

Even after all of the shit Sobel had put him through, it didn’t take much to make him remember why exactly he joined the paratroopers.

Just that thought gave him enough confidence to face whatever he was walking into.

What he was preparing himself for on the way to morning line up was one of two things. Either Sobel would be extra possessive that day, or he would just claim him right there in front of the Company. Just the thought of Sobel’s hand ghosting around his neck made him shiver, and imagining everyone staring at him in pity made him want to be sick.

During a very brief moment while he walked, the thought of taking up the option to marry a random Alpha before the jump crossed his mind. It was made very clear during the start of the war that Omegas were not required to volunteer, but once they were in, that was it. Just like the rest of their fellow soldiers, they were going to serve until they were no longer needed to, and Gene was more than alright with that. He didn’t want to have something the others couldn’t have, and that was a way out. He knew right from the beginning it was going to be difficult, maybe even impossible, for Omegas to be accepted by the Alphas and Betas of his Company, and giving them special treatment wasn’t going to help with that.

But it didn’t take long for some rich Alpha sitting in Congress to complain about such a “crude and barbaric” rule. He made the argument that an Omega’s mind was fragile, and very much like a child’s. He wasn’t implying that they were stupid, just that, Omegas could get  _ ideas _ in their head, and they will sometimes try to do something with those thoughts. Unfortunately, an Omega didn’t understand how dangerous the world really is. That is why an Alpha should keep them at home, make them feel safe, and keep their thoughts in check so they don’t get any crazy ideas.

Gene remembered there being more to the argument, but it was so easy to block out Mama and sister when they try to lecture him about his own biology. At the moment, it also felt like forever ago.

He did remember that the congressman obtained a lot of supporters, and a compromise was made. If an Omega ever felt they needed to leave the military, they must find someone to marry when they are off the line, and the wedding must be within a month from engagement.

In Gene’s mind, it was a coward’s way out. He felt disgusted even having the thought in the first place, no matter how quickly he dismissed it.

No, like always he will get through another day. He had to.

The first day they arrived in Albourne, each CO claimed a spot to meet every morning. Because Sobel was always looking for approval from Colonel Sink, he chose to meet right in the middle of the little town where the Battalion staff were set up.

Since Mrs. Walker kept him behind to lecture him about being a good housewife, Gene was later than usual, so most of Easy was already standing at attention, waiting for their CO to arrive and start the verbal harassment.

He kept his head down as he walked to his spot, despite all eyes locking on his form. He knew the looks he received by heart at this point. Pity, worry, concern,...disappointment. Sometimes he just got sick of seeing it every day.

Although, it seemed like today wouldn’t be that kind of day.

When he got into position was when he finally looked up. Usually at this point the men remained looking forward, because nobody wanted to get caught by Sobel looking anywhere but at him.

So when Gene made eye contact with Sergeant Lipton, he knew something was different that today. In fact, most of the NCOs were giving him little side glances, and even smirks in Guarnere’s case.

Gene gave a quick once over of everyone in his line of sight, and realized that all of those dejected emotions were gone. They all seemed taller, more confident, and, to put it bluntly, happier.

At that point, Gene knew right away something was different, and something was obviously going through the bond the men already started forming with each other.

He, however, had no idea what could have changed so suddenly, until 10 minutes later when  _ Lieutenant Winters _ arrived with an Alpha Gene didn’t recognize.

The Alpha was just a few inches shorter than the red head, with a round face, strong jaw, curly hair, and blue eyes filled with discipline, determination, and amusement. It took Gene a moment to realize the other was staring at him with that last emotion.

Gene returned the look with one of confusion. What was going on? Why was Lieutenant Winters here, and where was Sobel?

“Easy Company,” Winters finally began, “you are in the position of attention for Lieutenant Meehan.”

And just like that, he was back in his normal spot like he was never gone in the first place. Gene was tempted to break his position just to look around to see if anyone else was shocked by this, but just as he had that thought, the new Alpha began to speak.

“Thank you, Lieutenant Winters. My name is Thomas Meehan, you may call me Lieutenant Meehan for now. I am originally from Baker Company, but was reassigned to Easy on the notion that I would be your new Commanding Officer. Your former CO, Captain Sobel, has also been reassigned-”

And that’s where Gene’s mind cut out. Sobel was gone. They had a new CO, a new Alpha at a higher rank, and Sobel was gone.

Gene barely caught that Sobel would be some kind of instructor for non-infantry types. The name of the village was two words, and start with a Ch-, but all Gene knew was that it was far away from them, and therefore, far away from him.

At some point, Lieutenant Meehan must have dismissed them to begin training, because Sergeant Martin clapped him on the shoulder and said, “Come on, Doc. Get your head in the game.”

Gene didn’t speak much during training, which wasn’t out of the ordinary. Back in America he would normally stay silent and focused, as to absorb as much useful knowledge as possible.

This time, however, he was still trying to wrap his head around the idea of Sobel being gone. For good. Gene would never have to see him again. Just the thought caused his head to spin, and all different kinds of emotions to well up inside of him.

He was confused as how he was gone so fast, but curious about why he really left. As much as Gene hated to admit it, he was the reason Easy Company was what they were today. He felt like there was no way Colonel Sink would just reassign him like that without a legitimate reason to. Sobel’s been messing up maneuvers and exercises since day one too, so it couldn’t be that.  

Gene had a feeling it had to do with Sergeant Lipton and the rest of the non-commissioned officers. All of Easy were giving him little smiles throughout the day, but it was the look of victory in the NCOs’ eyes that made Gene know they were involved in some way.

That and, for some odd reason, Sergeant Harris was gone, and Sergeant Ranney was now Private Ranney.

Don’t get him wrong, words couldn’t describe how relieved he was to hear the news. He could feel the fog lift from his mind, his thoughts became his own again. His Omega instincts were reigned in, and this time, Gene made sure to keep them on a tighter leash. No one would ever crack a hole in Gene’s defenses like that again. He’d make sure of that.

But now Gene had a new problem. He had to adjust to having a new Alpha around. It was hard getting a read on Lieutenant Meehan. The man was as quiet as Gene compared to Sobel’s thunderous voice yelling about weekend passe. When he did speak, his voice was deep, strong, and steady. It was a voice that made the whole Company listen to him, a voice of a leader.

Unlike Sobel, Lieutenant Meehan didn’t use his rank to hold anything above the men. He was not afraid to talk to the men, and use their skills in a way that benefited the whole Company, not just to make him look good.

Gene respected him in this sense, and the rest of Easy did too. He could already tell the moral of Easy of was lifting up as the day went on, just by how confident the men seemed in themselves. They were able to get tasks done faster and more efficiently. Luz didn’t even try to do a Meehan impression the entire day.

After seeing these changes, Gene, for the first time, actually thought they could survive this war.

There was still something missing, though.

Even though the men accepted Lieutenant Meehan as their CO, and seemed confident in his abilities, Gene could tell they were still anxiously waiting for something.

From the way they all glanced at him every five minutes, Gene had an idea what it was. They needed him to accept the Lieutenant too, but not as a private getting used to a new commanding officer. They needed their Omega to choose their Head Alpha.

They encouraged it throughout training. Luz came moseying on up to him during a short break, and repeatedly elbowed him the ribs by saying, “Eh, what do you think? Think we’ll get through the jump with this guy or what?”

Sergeant Guarnere spoke to Corporal Toye close enough for him to hear, but not close enough to be included, and said, “Can’t get much better than this guy. It’s a step up from Sobel, that’s fo’ sur’.”

Gene even caught Lieutenant Winters’s gaze at one point from a distance, challenging him to make a decision.

Gene just shook his head.

He just knew the pack wasn’t going to be completed with Lieutenant Meehan. He felt a little guilty, since there was no way they were getting another CO change before they jumped, and the men were sure putting all of their hopes on having the packed formed before that day.

Gene had a feeling he couldn’t connect to Meehan partly because of a gut feeling, the other part being, he still feared the idea of having a pack.

Despite Winters’s words, so long ago it seemed, that a pack would make him a better soldier, the past few weeks just seemed to show him that giving into biology would just make him weaker. He was barely able to perform his duties when his Omega instincts took over for Sobel. If he broke down in combat like that, it would just cause more harm than good.

If he started feeling the deaths of countless packmates through his soul, he didn’t think he’d be strong enough to come back from that.

As the day went on, the rest of Easy seemed to get it that the pack was not happening, at least, not with him as the Omega. Gene wanted to tell them to find someone else, have Oats or Pepping be a temporary replacement. Betas in history were known to take up the job of a pack Omega if said Omega was not fitted for the role.

He wouldn’t bring it up, though. The pack was not his problem. Keeping his soldiers alive was.

While he could see some disappointed faces by the end of training, no one took it out on their Cajun medic. Instead, they all grouped together and talked about celebrating the loss of Sobel.

Gene gave a soft smile at the sight of the happy Company, it turn to walk back towards Mrs. Walker’s house to finish the rest of the chores.

He made it about halfway to the path, when a voice shouted behind him.

“Hey Doc!”

Gene turned around only to see George Luz running towards him.

“You hurt, Luz?” Gene started with the normal phrase he used whenever someone approached him.

“Nah,” Luz answered with a smile, “we were just thinking of heading out to town for a little celebration. Guarnere says he knows a place. Was wondering if you wanted to tag along. Maybe even swing a wing with me for once!”

Gene shook his head, “Sorry, Luz. I promised my host ta finish some chores when I got back, and I’d ratha not be doing th’m all night.”

The brief look of disappointment that crossed the impressionist's face made unexpected guilt bloom in Gene’s chest.

But just as the look appeared, it was gone with Luz’s normal side smirk, “Don’t worry about it, Doc! Stay safe walking back, alright?”

Gene watched the Alpha’s retreating form, having a battle with his rational side, to just let him walk away, or his guilty conscious, and stop him. His conscious won.

“Luz!” he called out, stopping the Alpha right in his tracks to look back at him.

Gene really couldn’t believe he was doing this, “Nex’ time we get weekend passes, save a dance fo’ me,” just saying the words made him want to die from embarrassment, “Fo’ now, tell the otha’s I’m not curing any random ‘diseases’ tomorr’w, ya hear me?”

Just like that, Luz’s goofy smirk was back on his face, “I’m holding you to that, Doc!” he shouted as he ran back to the rest of Easy.

Gene shook his head with a soft smile. It seemed he didn’t even hear the other half of Gene’s statement.

It wasn’t his problem, though. He’s not going to be the one to wake up with a hangover the next day.

Thinking now he was definitely going to be late, and would not escape a talking to from Mrs. Walker, Gene started his trip back to the house. As he walked away, he couldn’t help but overhear someone shout in the distance,

“We’ve got Doc back!”

The lazy smile that appeared on his face just wouldn’t seem to disappear for the rest of the evening.

 

* * *

 

It turned out Luz wouldn’t be getting that dance any time soon, since they were packing up to leave Aldbourne a few days later.

Gene had no problem tuning out Luz as the other swore up and down that, “You planned this, didn’t you, Doc!” and “Don’t think I’ll forget about our date!”

Gene just silently nodded at Luz’s which just seemed to make Luz pout even more. He probably should feel bad, but he knew Luz would get over it eventually, especially since his supposed “date” with Luz was old news compared to getting yet another new member of Easy. Unsurprisingly, it was another Alpha. His name was Buck Compton, a real tall man with ice blue eyes and blonde, almost white hair. Gene almost laughed when he said he was from California, since he fit the description of what Gene always pictured a Californian being.

Lieutenant Compton had no problems mixing in with Easy Company, especially with the enlisted men. He told them stories of his time at UCLA, how he liked to play all kinds of sports, and was even on the Regiment’s baseball team for awhile. He was also a gambler, and Gene isn’t say it like he has a problem, like calling Lieutenant Nixon a drinker. No, Lieutenant Compton was just good at it, which seemed to frustrate Lieutenant Winters whenever he caught him playing with the men.

The first time Gene actually spoke to him was when he needed a small wound cleaned after a bad practice jump.

When he came into the medic’s tent, Gene had him sit in a chair as he knelt down to look a the gash on his shin. He silently analyzed the wound in front of him. Not deep enough for stitches, would just sting for a couple of days. Confirming this, Gene reached for the supplies next to him, sterile alcohol to clean the wound, and a bandage to wrap around his leg when he was done.

Gene immediately got to work, ignoring the intense gaze that was been directed towards him from above. He almost thought no one was going to say anything during the short exchange, when finally the Lieutenant spoke.

“So you’re our Omega, huh?”

“No,” Gene immediately replied, and he looked back up at the Alpha, “I’m your medic.”

The towheaded man must have found the dead serious look in his eyes amusing, because he just put his hands up  and chuckled.

“Hey, of course you are. I’m not trying to imply anything here,” he then reached into his shirt pocket and unfolded a piece of paper. On it was a picture of a young woman wearing a dress that blew in the wind, with a scarf wrapped around her soft looking curls.

“That’s my girl right there. We’ve been together for almost two years now. We decided to hold off on marriage until I get back.”

Not really knowing how to respond, Gene awkwardly came up with, “She’s pretty,” and went back to bandaging.

Compton stared at the picture for another second with a small smile before putting back into his pocket.

Gene could already feel the heavy stare being directed towards him again.

“You got anyone back home, Doc?”

Gene just shook his head and finished tying off the last knot. He stood up, Compton following his movement, shaking his head leg for good measure.

“Good as new. Thanks, Doc.”

Gene took the compliment without any comments, and just began to clean up his station. Instead of just moving on, like what most soldiers did after Gene was done with them, Compton had to get one last word in.

“Who knows, maybe you’ll find someone in Easy.”

He immediately whipped his head up to respond, an insult in French on the tip of his tongue, but the Lieutenant was already gone.

Gene stewed over the comment for the rest of the day.

 

* * *

 

Upottery, in Gene’s opinion, was dark, damp, muddy, and crowded.

But above all of that, it was freeing.

In the last couple of weeks, Gene realized a weight lifted from his shoulders. A weight that was slowly crushing him with every day that went by. A weight that, with time, would have completely transformed him into one of those mindless Omegas he tried to avoid becoming all of his life.

It made him sick, really. How easy it was for a group of knot headed Alphas to put a crack into his walls when his guard was down for one second, only to have Sobel come along and finish the hole.

Not completely break it down, though. That was something Sobel would never get the satisfaction of seeing, that no one would ever get to see.

He would be more cautious this time around. Lieutenant Meehan did seem like a good man, but now he could never be too careful, especially when surrounded by so many new Alphas.

At least it wasn’t like the ship. The Omegas that normally fooled around seemed to get it in their heads that there was no time for that. Upottery was the final step, and Gene could tell that most of the Omegas knew they’ve came too far to mess it up now.

When he looked around at the remaining Omega medics as they were emptying out a supply truck, he felt a little proud that out of the seven Omegas that started in Toccoa, only two took the chance and married in England to get out of jumping. While it may have been the cowards way to go, he guessed it was better than having medics freeze the moment someone went down.

Gene was picking up a particular heavy box when Pepping decided it was a good time to elbow him in the ribs.

“ _ Pour l’amour de Dieu _ , Peppin’! Watch-”

“You seeing what I’m seeing?”

Gene followed the Betas line of sight to a group of men dressed in German uniforms.

“Since when did they start letting Krauts walk around freely?”

“Ha, don’t worry about it, mates!”

Both Gene and Pepping turned their heads to see one of the men wearing the gray uniform approach them. The man walked in long strides, his chest out, and a cocky smirk on his lips. Yep, he was an Alpha.

Said Alpha stuck his arms out as if to show off the outfit more, “This is all for you! So you don’t throw a spanner in the works on your first jump, yeah?”

“...No,” Pepping answered in confusion. Gene just returned to his work with indifference.

“So what we got here? The Yankees let their Os fight too? How’s that working?”

“Oh yeah, it’s a gas.” Pepping answered sarcastically to get the Brit to leave. It didn’t work.

“Huh?”

“What?”

“ _ Mon Dieu _ ,” Gene grumbled in annoyance. He could already feel a headache coming on from the exchange. Instead of listening to more of it, he went back to the truck to unload more boxes. Just as his hand touched the handle, another came through and started tugging the box towards him.

“Here, let me help you with that,” the same voice as before cut in. It seemed he wouldn’t be able to shake this one.

Feeling only slightly annoyed at the help, but not one to start petty fights, Gene just let the British soldier do whatever he wanted as he reached for another box. When the same hand came back to help, Gene quickly picked it up and placed it far away from the man. The Alpha was smirking when he walked back to the truck.

“You’re a cheeky one, aren’t you,” the man leaned against the truck, arms crossed, giving Gene a once over, “how about when you’re done we can go find some place private and we can do a bit of slap and tickle, if you know what I mean.”

“Hey!” Pepping cut in, “leave him alone! We don’t need some Doll Dizzy Tommy getting in our way.”

“A what? Look I don’t want to get into an argy-bargy with you. I’m just asking your friend here to see a picture with me, that’s all.”

“Yeah, well, it sounds like you’re doing more than going fishing!”

“Eh?”

“What?”

“Docs!”

_ ‘Thank God’ _ Gene thought as Talbert came running up to them. He would do anything to get out of this circling conversation.

“Time for debriefing,” Talbert started when he finally made it to them, “Lieutenant Winters sent me for you guys.”

Gene nodded and silently began his way towards the debriefing area, Pepping and Talbert sliding in next to him.

“Maybe I’ll see you around!” The British soldier called out once, before making his way back to his friends.

Talbert turned around and raised his eyebrow at the man, “He sure seemed like a doozy.”

Pepping snorted, “More like annoying.”

Gene made no comment.

In the hangar, all of Easy Company was sitting on wooden benches, waiting for Lieutenant Meehan to start.

When the man himself did start, it was right to the point, the words obviously rehearsed. They were told about the beaches, the Seaborne Infantry, and their more specific objective to capture Carentan. Before even that, that will have to destroy a German garrison in Saint-Marie-du-Mont.

They were ordered to know the operation by heart, and his and every other outfit’s mission. They needed to study the sand tables, maps, and recon photos to know the map by heart.

They didn’t get to know the day of the jump, and Gene couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not.

Despite that, after the debriefing, Gene could definitely tell the jump felt more real to everyone, including himself.

 

* * *

 

“Three-day supply of K-rations, chocolate bars, candy, powdered coffee, sugar, matches, compass, bayonet, trenching-tool, ammunition, gas mask, musette bag with ammo, my webbing, my 45, two cartons of smokes, Hawkins mine, two grenades, smoke grenade, Gammon grenade, TNT, this bullshit, and a pair of nasty skivvies!”

“What’s your point?”

“God this stuff weighs as much as I do! I still got my chute, my reserve shute, my Mae West, and my M-1!”

While Gene made no movement to suggest he was eavesdropping, he was nodding internally. The amount of stuff they have to jump with seemed to have doubled in weight from what they were practicing with. To add an extra 80 pounds, they also were issued ‘leg bags’ to pack even more gear.

Gene was going over everything he was given for probably the fifth time since he’s started packing. Just like Corporal Toye, it seemed like his list went on forever with morphine, penicillin, burn ointment, sulfa, tourniquets, tubing, medical tools, tablets, splints, tape, safety pins, his shell dressing bag, all different kinds of bandages, and suppressants.

He tried to put each supply in a place where it would be easy to reach in case he needed it quickly, but he was started to run out of room on his body. He didn’t even understand how the leg bag worked. Were they just supposed to walk around with extra weight on their leg, or awkwardly carry it while heading towards the meeting point?

He felt a bit better when he heard other people struggle with the new piece of equipment.

“Private Roe!”

Gene looked up to see Vest waving a letter in the air. He quickly waved the man down. With barely a glance, Vest gave him the letter, and went to chase the next man down.

He saw some of the men around him give him curious glances, since he’s never talked about anyone from home. But a this point, most of them learned not to push him too hard for information. He was just glad Luz was somewhere else packing up.

The handwriting was clearly his Mama’s. Precisely spaced out in carefully drawn curls. To preserve the paper, Gene carefully ripped the top of the envelope, and found two pieces of folded parchment inside. He pulled out one, and began to read.

_ Dear  _ __ _ Frère, _

It was from his older sister

_ I have to write this quickly, since Mama is about to finish hers soon, and I must slip it into the envelope without her noticing. Oh, but there is so much I wish to tell you. Hopefully when it is not so urgent, I can speak of how home has been. To make you feel better, I’ll quickly add that our petit frères are just as troublesome as when you left. They’ve tried countless of times to follow in your footsteps, especially John. For a 14 year old, he is very persistent, but I remember you being the exact same way. _

_ Minnie and I have been keeping busy helping around the house, and taking up some extra jobs to earn more money. Mama won’t admit it, but the money you send home is sure helping a lot. You know how she can be. That is why I just want to remind you that whatever she says or does, it’s because she loves you. She’s been talking to some people with Alpha children. I know she’s planning something for you, and if I’m correct, I can’t help but hope you’ll take the offer. I know you won’t, though. It’s not who you are. _

_ So remember,  it’s your life, Gene. Whatever you decide, I’ll always support you. _

_ Bien amicalement votre soeur préférée, _

_ Winnie _

Gene felt his heart swell with happiness from reading his sister’s words. He felt like he could practically hear her right next to him, always giving him advice, and being on his side. Her words confused him, but he already had an idea of what the second letter was about, and if he was correct, than so was Winnie. He wouldn’t accept the offer.

He placed the first letter back into the envelope, and pulled the second one out. Unlike Winnie’s fast scribbles, it was clear his Mama spent time on the letter, carefully sketching out each word. She knew that, depending on how she worded the letter could possibly persuade him on certain topics.

_ Mon petit faon, _

_ How are you? I’m sure you’ve been very busy, since we haven’t heard from you in months. _

_ I do wish I could have heard from you more often. Despite this house being filled with my children, your absence is quite noticeable, and weighs heavily on my heart. _

_ Everything is going quite smoothly if you’d like to know. Your siblings have stepped up a lot to help with money. Your sœurs and I have managed to keep your frères in school, but it is so hard with you gone. You know how they’ve always followed in your footsteps. _

_ I want you to know that I am very proud of you, Eugene. You have proven to be more than capable of handling yourself, and I am sorry for ever doubting you. These past couple of years have shown me that you are stronger than I originally thought, and now I understand why you needed to prove that. _

_ But don’t you think it’s been enough? You have been gone for so long, mon faon, my heart can barely take it anymore. I know something is about to happen, your Grand-Mère said she felt it in her bones. Chaos, she described it as. Simply chaos. _

_ You do not belong out there, Eugene. Come home. Start a family, like all of the other Omegas in town. Mary from down the street has already found a suitable Alpha, an officer even. She is already filled with pups. _

_ I’ve been asking around, and have found many suitors, some you may even know. They are very eager to meet you. _

_ I am getting old, Eugene, and I would like to see some grandchildren in my future. I would even accept a nice Englishman if you find someone you fancy. _

_ Please respond soon. I will be earnestly waiting for your decision. _

_ Avec beaucoup d’amour, _

_ Mama _

Gene could only stare at the letter. He tried to get himself to read it again, just to make sure what he read was correct, but his eyes just wouldn’t let him. No matter how many times he tried, he could never get past ‘ _ mon petit faon’,  _ a term of endearment his Mama often used when he was a kid, but only used it recently when he was upset. In this case, she was preparing to make him upset.

There was a heaviness on his chest, and it completely replaced the fuzzy feelings he received when he read his sister’s letter.

He really should have been expecting a letter like this to arrive at some point, though. His Mama never wanted him to join the military, and was especially crushed when she learned he was joining the paratroopers to be a combat medic. After the death of his Pa, his Mama was always overbearing. He couldn’t leave the house on his days off without Winnie, being the only Alpha in this family, by his side. He resorted to sneaking out not long after.

Despite the change in Mama’s behavior, he always believed that deep down, she trusted him to make his own decisions. He’s always found way to prove it to her. Whether it was getting his own job, or defending himself at the local bar, it was clear to everyone that he could take care of himself.

But apparently, even spending two years in the military would never change the Beta woman’s mind.

Gene shook his head, and carefully placed the letter back into the envelope and the envelope into his bag. It was a simple decision really. All one had to do was look around. Thousands of men hunched over, eating ice cream out of metal tins, quickly packing their bags, unpacking them, and then packing them again. They were making some small talk, but mostly just enjoying the feeling of adrenaline coursing through their veins, and they weren’t even on the planes yet.

It was hard not to feel some form of excitement, though. Something they’ve been training for for years was finally here. They’ve all been through Toccoa, Currahee, 3 miles up, 3 miles down, Benning, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, etc. crossing the ocean in a pressure cooker, training in fields with cows, and finally, dealing with Sobel. That wasn’t even including all of the things they’ve endured personally.

So when Lieutenant Meehan announced that there would be no jump, Gene took the opportunity to head over to the Headquarters Company tent. He didn’t want to keep his sister and Mama waiting after all.

He made it real simple for them. It could be seen as cruel, since he hasn’t talked to his family in months, but he’s sure his siblings will at least get some humor out of it.

In big block letters on a single piece of papers, Gene wrote

_ Dear Mama, _

_ No thank you. _

_ Beaucoup d’amour, _

_ Ton petit faon _

 

* * *

 

“Did you hear about Guarnere’s brother?”

“Yeah. What a way to find out, huh?”

“You remember your trenching tool?”

“Yes.”

“How about your smokes?”

“Of course, what kind of question is that?”

“You sure you buckled everything correctly?”

“Do you want me to do it again?”

“...Yeah.”

“It sucks no pack bond formed.”

“Sure does.”

“Don’t focus on that, it’ll happen. You can’t force things like this.”

“Yeah, we’ll still be fine. Doc Roe is still our medic after all.”

The airfield was quiet, except for the dull murmur of small talk that passed through the men. The topic changed from man to man, but one thing Gene was used to hearing that day was talk about the pack bond. He never really realized how many people really believed that it would form before the jump no matter what. He was almost 100% sure everyone in Easy believed it would form no matter what over the course of the war.

Gene could admit he felt a little guilty about the whole ordeal. He felt like for the past couple years, he’s been so focused on his own problems, he’s been ignoring all of the things the Company has done for him.

Even today, Gene was sure there would be some anger directed towards him. He fought the bond the entire step of the way, even though the others did everything they could to make him feel welcomed in a situation he could have easily been outcasted in. But none of them showed any signs of hostility, or even that much disappointment. In fact, whenever Gene passed them, they would clap him on his shoulder or back. Whenever they did, something would stir inside his chest.

“Gentlemen, Doc Roe is handing these out for airsickness, and another pill to mask your scent. Orders are every man takes both now, and another two 30 minutes in the air.”

Gene began walking through second platoon, making eye contact with every single man. Some, like Malarkey and Toye, made a point of brushing their fingers against his as they took the pills.

When he was done, he sat down in the back of the line.

Lieutenant Winters carefully looked them over, and only had a few words for them, but they were the only words they needed at the moment.

“Second platoon, listen up. Good luck. God bless you all. I’ll see you in the assembly area.”

He helped each of them up, making genuine eye contact with everyone. When it finally reached his turn, both he and Winters intentionally held the other’s hand longer. He could tell by just looking into the other man’s eyes that they were thinking about the exact same moment that seemed forever ago.

_ “What you described is everything these men need in their pack Omega, it’s no wonder they picked you.” _

_ “It’ll be you, ya know. Just call it an Omega’s intuition.” _

_ “I’ll be waiting then.” _

With what seemed like hours, but was really only a few seconds, the Lieutenant and Gene finally let go of each other, and climbed into the plane.

The roar of engines soon filled up the silence. One plane starting after another. It was all so similar to their practice runs, the experience was almost boring.

Gene kept his gaze locked with the floor, until he felt the plane roll down the airstrip before picking up speed, and taking them into the air. That’s when he began to look around out of the corner of his eye.

Many different kinds of emotions began welling up inside him the more he peered at the others, some he didn’t even know where they were coming from. He just knew for sure that, with a Company like Easy, everything would work out. He may not be the best choice for an Omega, but for Easy, he would make sure to be the best goddamn medic the infantry has ever seen.

_ ‘Lord, grant that I shall never seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, or to be loved as to love with all my heart. With all my heart.’ _

_ ‘Lord, grant that I shall never seek to be consoled as to console…’ _

_ ‘Lord, grant that I shall never..’ _

_ ‘...with all my heart.’ _

_ ‘With all my heart.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Au re'oir- spelled like this because of Gene's accent. Goodbye in French.
> 
> Beck moi tchew- This is a Cajun French curse phrase meaning "Bite my ass."
> 
> Swing a wing- Dance Swing.
> 
> Pour l'amour de Dieu- For the love of God.
> 
> Throw a spanner in the works- to make a mistake, or fuck up something.
> 
> A gas- A good time.
> 
> Mon Dieu- My God.
> 
> Slap and tickle- To make out, or foreplay. 
> 
> Doll Dizzy- Crazy about girls. In this case, crazy about Omegas.
> 
> Argy-bargy- An argument.
> 
> Going fishing- Looking for a date.
> 
> Frère- Brother. 
> 
> Petit Frères- Little brothers.
> 
> Bien amicalement votre soeur préférée- Sincerely, from your favorite sister.
> 
> Mon petit faon- My little fawn.
> 
> Sœurs- Sisters
> 
> Avec beaucoup d’amour- With lots of love.
> 
> Beaucoup d’amour- Lots of love
> 
> Ton petit faon- Your little fawn.
> 
> I am not an expert on the tools combat medics carried during WWII, nor am I an expert in 40's slang, British slang, and French (especially not Cajun French). I'm very sorry if anything is wrong.
> 
> But, yay!!! We're finally done with Currahee!! I am so happy right now, I can't even describe it lol.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed it! Sorry about the long wait. I find it very hard to write for Doc Roe because he doesn't really talk to anyone. Hopefully I can get Babe to appear soon, since he'll be talking to everyone about Gene ;D.
> 
> I'll try very hard to start the next chapter soon! But school is starting back up again, and this semester is just really kicking my ass. Just about 11 more weeks left, though!
> 
> On another note, have you guys been reading "En d'oeuil" by tinallie? If you love Doc Roe as much as I do, please go read it! It is so amazing, I'm obsessed with it! That story really motivated to finish this chapter too! Please check it out, so I can go fan crazy over it with someone hahaha!
> 
> See you next time!


	10. Day of Days 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The jump

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! First, let me apologize for the long hiatus, it was definitely not planned, and the biggest thing was just school and work. This semester was just, gah, I just can't even describe how I felt this semester. Icky, maybe. Lol, but school is done! And I'm ready to relax this summer and actually get somewhere with this story! 
> 
> Sorry for the vague summary, I don't want to spoil anything~
> 
> A huge thank you to tinallie!!! She's just been super helpful with everything, I could not have posted this chapter without her, and I'm so grateful to have such an amazing writer help me with this! It is especially awesome to fangirl over Band of Brothers with someone XD
> 
> As always, thank you all for your continued support, and I hope you enjoy this long deserved chapter!

Dick remembered a time when he was younger, around 11 when boys start to show their second gender, and he presented as an Alpha. He remembered the joy on his mother’s face and the pride on his father’s. He remember that he felt good, like he did something right, and he didn’t even have to try. He was an Alpha, just like his father. The top of the food chain — strong, powerful, and a leader. 

However, he also knew at that time it was the end for certain comforts. An Alpha didn’t run to their mother when they got a scraped knee. An Alpha didn’t back away from a fight. An Alpha was not meant to be a follower.

Still, Dick didn’t mind these changes. He knew he was supposed to be a leader some day. He felt it, whether on his sports teams in school or just standing up to a local bully. He could be a true leader of something important someday.

As he looked around the plane at the shadowed faces of the men he was going to jump with any hour now, any second, he wondered if this was it. The moment for him to lead something great.

At 11 years old he knew he would get a pack someday. It was inevitable; everyone needed a pack, even if it was just a family. Lone wolves never survived for long. He just never imagined his first pack would be a war pack and that it would be made up of mostly Alphas.

_ ‘Mostly…’  _ Dick thought as he gazed over familiar faces until he settled on the one he was looking for.

Gene sat across from Dick, his normally light eyes seemed completely black in the shadows. Not that they were making eye contact. Gene wasn’t making eye contact with anyone. He had his face turned slightly to the side, so part of his chin was resting on his parachute. His eyebrows were furrowed, like his was in deep thought. About what, Dick had no idea, but he did know it wasn’t deep enough for Dick to snap him out of anything. He did look worried and Dick wished he could go over and comfort him, but he also knew it wasn’t the time, nor the place. Gene didn’t need comforting anyways, he never did.

He noticed some of the other men also looking in the Omega’s direction. Some, like Guarnere and Grant seemed to be either too lost in their own thoughts or dozing to check on their medic, but their flaring nostrils told Dick that they were trying to catch even a little of the Omega’s hidden scent.

Looking just slightly to Gene’s right, Dick could see Penkala openly staring at the medic. The young Alpha’s love seeming to be so painstakingly obvious to all except for the one person who should know about it. As if feeling eyes on him, Penkala turned his head to make eye contact with Dick. Dick just gave a small smile in his fellow Alpha’s direction, but that didn’t stop Penkala from trying to cover up his actions by checking his parachute for probably the fiftieth time since they took off.

Dick just shook his head and looked out the door into the night. He would admit that things would be so much simpler if he knew what his platoon, his company, his  _ pack  _ were thinking. He would be able to calm them down with a single thought. During the jump, he would be able to smell past the scent maskers, and gather everyone quicker and more efficiently. He would be able to sense who was in distress and who was with that person. He would always know who they had, who they lost, and how everyone was handling it.

But they weren’t. A pack that is.

But while looking at Gene, he realized that it was fine. Dick knew how badly the men wanted the pack to form before the jump because he wanted it too. And maybe it was because Gene wasn’t ready to be a Pack Omega, or maybe Gene felt he wasn’t ready to become a Head Alpha. Either way, Dick had no reason to think that it would never happen. There was a good chance it would happen tonight. Both Gene and Dick just needed a chance to prove themselves as soldiers before they could live up to Pack Omega and Head Alpha.

Even if Dick didn’t prove himself and someone else fit the role better in Gene’s eyes, Dick would accept it. Since day one, when Dick saw a small, dark haired Omega leading the medical attachment down Currahee he knew that that Omega was strong enough to look after himself and make his own decisions.

Even when they faced some tough times, first with Sobel, then with what happened on the ship, and then Sobel  _ again _ , Gene was always able to pull ahead because they were all looking out for him. Dick knew, whether he wanted to or not, that Gene was looking out for them as well.

Gene wasn’t the only Easy company member to come out on top either. While looking around at the men in his plane, and thinking about the men in others, he knew that they have all just grown stronger from their experiences together, and closer as well. Because of that, Dick could not think of a better group of men to jump out of a moving plane with.

The artillery was heard before it was seen. The popping of guns, and the booms of antiaircrafts hitting their marks, that seemed to shake the whole plane. Then came the flashes that lit up the sky like the lightning storms back home, but Dick knew that was nothing but wishful thinking.

He started fixing the chin strap on his helmet, knowing that at any time the light could turn on.

As if on cue, red flashed across his face, and he immediately stood up to face his men.

“Get ready!” he shouted over the roar of the plane, and watched as each man brought their line hooks out.

“Stand up! Hook up!”

The men got in a row in front of him, and started hooking themselves to the line hanging from the ceiling. Dick tried to focus on all of his men, not just the Omega standing right in front of him, but it was hard considering the height difference between him and Gene. Gene just looked so small in all of his gear, Dick’s instincts shouted at him to get him out of this mess and he bet the other boys felt the same way. But there was no time for that.

“Equipment check!”

The others patted each other down, checking each and every strap on the men in front’s body. Dick kept an eye on Toye as he patted around Gene’s body. Not because he thought Toye’s hands would “slip” in any way, Toye was a good man and he was always looking out for everyone in the platoon, especially Gene. Of course, toward the end of training, everyone seemed protective over their medic.

But Dick’s instincts were telling him that he should be the one checking Gene’s equipment, making sure that he was safe. Toye did look up from his task, and nodded at Dick, giving him reassurance that Gene’s equipment checked out.

Dick gave a small nod back and continued, “Sound off for equipment check!”

“Ten ok!”

“Nine ok!”

“Eight ok!”

“Seven ok!”

Down the line it went, Dick gaining slightly more confidence, from adrenaline most likely, as it got closer and closer to him.

“Four ok!”

“Three ok!”

“Two ok!” Gene finally shouted, not even acknowledging how Toye’s hand seemed to hover on his arm a little longer than necessary, or maybe he just didn’t notice.

“One ok!” Dick shouted back at them, and finally made eye contact with Gene. The eyes that were, just a few moments ago, drowned with worry and fear, were not sharp and intense, ready for whatever was about to be thrown at them. Dick felt like he should say something to him, anything, but as he opened his mouth, the plane made a quick turn, lurching them to one side, and then to the other as it righted itself. Dick quickly caught himself on the edge of the door. As he did, he couldn’t help but look down, and see the thousands of parachutes already littering the sky, the flashes of guns trying to shoot them down, and the burning planes that actually managed to get hit.

_ ‘Jesus Christ.’ _

He managed to get himself standing again, and looked around to see most of his men managed the same feat. Some seemed to find more balance staying in a half sitting half kneeling position on the seats.

Dick looked back out the door, knowing that at any moment the light had to turn green, but the ground seemed to becoming closer and closer by the minute.

“If we get any lower, we ain’t gonna need any freaking parachute!” Malarkey shouted over the roar of the engine and sound of gunfire.

Dick could only look back at him. He knew they were close. They had to be close by now.

He felt eyes on the back of his head, and turned around to see Gene, still staring at him intensely. Dick knew there was something that needed to be said, but he couldn’t bring himself to form any words. Apparently, he didn’t need any words, because for a moment, only a moment, did a spark appear in his mind, and a warmth spread throughout his chest. A quick feeling of “Be careful out there”, and then, it was gone. Dick knew it was a connection with Gene somehow, but before he could even think about it, the light turned green.

“Let’s go!”

And he was out the plane.

 

* * *

 

From all of the drills they’ve been through, Gene knew the jump couldn’t have been more than a minute. But when you’re falling into enemy territory with said enemies aiming to shoot you down, and trying not to think of falling airplanes and dead bodies above you, it feels just a little bit longer.

Gene lost Lieutenant Winters in the sea of men almost immediately after he jumped, and his leg bag right after that. He tried following it down with his eyes, but the darkness quickly consumed the bag, and all of his tools in it.

He couldn’t dwell on his loss for too long, though. He knew right when he landed he’d be in German territory, surrounded by nothing but enemies, and your allies few and far between.

So when he did land, he started thinking about what he does still have, not what he lost. In seconds flat, he had his parachute off, and his med bag strapped tight around his body. He knew for one thing he still had his suppressants, which he popped one in his mouth quickly. Sometimes adrenaline made them run their course through the body quicker, and he was no help to anyone going through heat in the middle of Normandy.

He quickly checked his bag, and knew he at least had enough bandages, sulfa, and morphine to get him through a week. That, of course, was if he was able to find anyone.

Gene looked around, and found himself in the middle of some kind of wheat field, and around that, nothing but forest. He had no idea which way to go, but the quick pops of gunfire to his right made that decision pretty easy for him.

He ran in a low squat towards the forest, ducking his head whenever the sound of gunfire rang through the air.

When he made it behind the tree line, he squatted behind a huge trunk, and waited a couple seconds to try and hear any noises. When nothing came up, he finally let himself think.

He didn’t know if he was by the drop zone, or nowhere near it, and he couldn’t even use his nose to look for any allies. The scent maskers were a good idea to sneak up on enemies, but the blended mix of weak scents was confusing Gene even more. He was in the middle of some forest, and he remembered the map during debriefing had a lot of woods, so that was no help either.

So he had no idea where he was, was alone, had no gun, and had no ally with him with a gun either.

For a split second, there was a feeling of fear that welled up inside of him. Maybe he should have tried harder to stick with Lieutenant Winters, maybe he should have asked one of the others for some kind of handgun just in case (even though it was basically considered a war crime to give an Omega a weapon), and maybe he should have finished the pack bond before they jumped in the first place.

But Gene knew there was no ‘maybes’ in war. There was just what happened, and what was going to happen, and there were men out there right now who needed his help.

Gathering himself together, Gene started to form a loose plan. First, he needed to know where he was, and to do that, he needed some sort of landmark or street sign.

He closed his eyes, and listened closely. For a few minutes, all he got was gunfire, and the sound of his own breathing. Not even a single animal was out that night. But as he listened harder, he could hear faint voices to his left, very faint, but definitely German. There was also the sound of horses, which most likely meant a road.

Gene silently stood up, and started walking the direction he thought was parallel to the road. Thankfully, the voices of the Germans were getting farther and farther away, telling Gene that they were headed towards the opposite direction that Gene was walking.

As he was walking, he kept a lookout for any Easy men. They couldn’t be too far off, there were planes full of them, and they all jumped at relatively the same time. Even if it was someone not from Easy, he would be grateful. While looking at all of them landing below him while he was in the air, he would think that someone would be close by, but the more he walked, the more he felt like he was just getting surrounded by Germans.

But he continued to move, staying relatively hidden in the forest, but inching a little bit closer to the road as the minutes went by.

While walking, he couldn’t help but think about the last moment on the plane. Something...strange happened between himself and Lieutenant Winters. At least, it felt strange for him.

On the ride there, he couldn’t stop thinking about his decision with the pack bond, and whether it was the right one. The plane felt almost as bad as the ship that brought them to England, and Gene didn’t need to be the Pack Omega to feel how tense it was in there. Instincts were screaming at him almost the entire way there to comfort them somehow, but he didn’t know how. His  Grand-Mère used to say that it was easy, and she did it for them all of the time when they threw tantrums as kids.

_ “All you have ta do, child, is project a happy, calming, or any kind of feeling to them. It doesn’ even have to be a mem’ry, as long as it comes from ya heart.” _

As a kid, the whole concept sounded stupid to Gene, but he did try it with his little brothers after he presented as an Omega, and it worked instantly. However, sometimes he would have nightmares, and project that onto everyone in the house by accident. His Grand-Mère did tell him, though, that the stronger the bond, the easier it was to project other emotions.

But Easy didn’t even have a bond, at least not with him. But then what was that before they jumped? It felt like he was... _ connected  _ to Winters somehow. He just remembered thinking that he wanted the Lieutenant to be careful, and then, for a split second, it was like their minds and souls were connected, and he could feel everything Winters was feeling. Everything happened so fast afterwards, he didn’t even have time to process it, but now that he did have time, he had no idea what to make of it.

_ Snap _

A twig breaks close behind him.

_ ‘Shit,’  _ he thought while quickly turning around _ , ‘I wasn’t payin’ attention.’ _

There was no use in hiding, though. Standing right behind him, with his gun aimed directly at Gene’s head, was a German.

“Halt!” the German yelled as Gene stood frozen to the ground, “Hebt die Hände in die Luft!”

Gene only caught the word ‘Hände’, and with the way the German was nudging his head upwards, Gene guessed he wanted his hands in the air.

The German studied him closely as he inched closer and closer to Gene. Gene could see that he was about his own age, maybe a little older, and he was definitely not an officer.

The German started sniffing the air, frowning when no scent came up. When he got close enough, he looked at the white symbol carefully painted on the side of Gene’s helmet?

“Omega?” the German asked with only confusion in his voice, but that word would be his last as a figure sprung from behind one of the trees, and tackled the German to the ground.

Gene was stunned for a moment, only able to look as an American wrestled with the German, both of them grunting and grabbing for each other’s throats. Finally, the American whipped out his knife, and plunged it into the German’s throat. The German gasped, and weakly reached for the hilt, before his entire body relaxed, and his eyes glossed over.

The American stayed panting over the German, and for a second, Gene thought he got hurt in the fight.

He was about to ask if he was ok, when the American started standing. Almost immediately, Gene recognizes him.

“Private Wilson?” he asked carefully. When the face whipped in his direction, Gene knew he was not mistaken. It was the same baby face Alpha he saw on the S.S. Samaria months ago.

“You know me?” the young man sounded skeptically, his knife still in his hand, and his gun slung across his back.

“I’m Eugene Roe, we met on the ship to England, rememba?”

Recognition immediately spread across Wilson’s face, “Doc Roe? From Easy Company?” he squinted, trying to see through the darkness and face paint, but when he does, a huge smile split his face.

“It really is you! Boy am I glad to see you!”

The choice of words caught Gene off guard, “Why, ya hurt anywhere?” he asked while already heading over in his direction with the med bag in hand.

“No no no! I’m fine!” Wilson waved his hands frantically, “I just meant I was glad to see  _ someone _ . I’ve been wandering these woods for an hour, and spotted no one but a couple of Krauts.”

Gene still gave him a once over, before backing away, “I’ve been in about the same boat. You’re company nearby?”

Wilson shook his head, “I haven’t seen any Able guys since the jump. And since you’re Easy, I’m guessing we’re farther off from our drop zones than I thought.”

“Guessin’ you’re right,” Gene answered, “There’s a road about half a kilometer to the East of here. If we get to that, I might be able to tell where we are.”

Wilson nodded and brought his gun back around to hold in front of him.

Gene looked at it curiously, “If ya had a gun, why’d ya use a knife?”

Wilson looked down at his gun sheepishly, “I thought it would be quieter, didn’t expect the bastard to yell so much.”

Gene chuckled softly, and started walking his originally path, Wilson right next to him.

After about 20 minutes of walking parallel to the road, Gene deemed it safe enough to start making their way towards it when no more Germans were heard. Wilson kept his gun out, and they both listened for anymore Germans lurking in the woods, or any potential allies.

They stay like that for a good 10 minutes, before Wilson can’t take the silence anymore.

“So how’ve you been?” he whispered.

“Jesus, Wilson, ya think this a good time to be havin’ a conversation? Keep ya eyes peeled, and ya mouth shut.”

That shut the kid up immediately, but when Gene looked over at him, it was like looking at a kicked puppy.

“Sorry,” he started uncomfortably, “the stress is jus’ gettin’ to me. I’ve been fine.”

Wilson just nods, but doesn’t look like he’s itching to say anything else. Feeling even more guilty, Gene looks for something to say, and finally remembers something from back on the ship.

“Did ya ever write to that Omega you liked?”

That seemed to snap the other out of it, and once again his huge grin was back.

“Of course I did! I mailed right when we got off the ship, and I even got a response!” he clapped his jacket breast pocket, and Gene guessed the letter was in there, “Do you know what he said too? He said he’s been waiting for me to come up and talk to him for years! Can you believe that?”

The kids seemed to glow while talking about this Omega, and Gene couldn’t help but smile.

“I told ya you just had to talk to him.”

Wilson nodded, “I was gonna write him back after the jump,” and then he frowned, “it just takes so long to get his letters since he’s still in Australia. But it’s a star — ”

_ Crunch Crunch _

Wilson’s voice immediately cut out as the sound of footsteps walking on sticks and leaves came closer to them. The both stepped behind their own trees, and Wilson brought his gun out. He looks at Gene for reassurance before whispering, “Flash!”

There was a pause in the noise, and no one said anything. Wilson brought his finger to the trigger, and was just about to pull it, when a harsh, “Thunder!” was repeated back to them.

Wilson and Gene made eye contact before they stepped out from behind the trees, and into the open.

In the dark, it was hard to make out the approaching figure, but as he got closer, Gene’s body tensed up. He would recognize that greasy hair anywhere.

“How the fuck do they expect us to see out here?” Private Adams whispered more to himself than to the two men in front of him, “Who the hell are you guys?”

Next to him, Gene could see Wilson tense also, but probably more from his Alpha instincts not liking to be talked down to.

“Private Wilson from Able, and you?”

Adams’s completely ignored his question for a moment, “Able?” he snorted, “What a fucking joke,” he then straightened his back, and puffed out his chest, in a true Alpha’s stance, “Private Adams, Dog Company.”

Gene could see Wilson bristle from the forced show of dominance, but Gene wasn’t even affected by it.

Adams nudged his head in Gene’s direction, “Does your friend not fucking talk or something?”

Gene could feel Wilson’s eyes on him, waiting for him to also introduce himself, but he refused to. He didn’t want to give Adams’s the satisfaction. Of course, because he didn’t know that there was something going on with Gene, Wilson did it for him.

“This is Easy’s medic, Eugene Roe.”

Adams’s eyes widened in shock as he started to put two and two together.

“Easy’s...medic.”

He stared at Gene, as if he wanted to scratch the paint off his face just to make sure he was who he thought he was, but when he saw the white Omega symbol on the side of his helmet, it was a done deal.

“ _ You _ .”

The Alpha looked like he wanted to storm Gene, or shoot him down, but Wilson, sensing the hostility, stood between them.

“I’m assuming you two know each other?” Wilson asked. Gene noticed that his gun was up, that he never lowered it.  

“It’s none of your fucking business, shorty!”

The tension switched from Gene and Adams to Wilson and Adams, and he knew the last thing they needed was two Alphas having a fight while surrounded by Germans. Taking a deep breath, Gene reached out and pulled Wilson back.

“It doesn’ matter right now. What does matter is gettin’ to that road, and findin’ out where the hell we are. So let’s go.”

The two Alphas continued to have a stare off, and for a second Gene thought they completely ignored him. Finally, Wilson lowered his gun and stepped back next to Gene again. They both looked at Adams, waiting for his answer.

The Alpha looked between the two, before finally lowering his own gun too.

“I can’t believe I’m stuck with the weakest Alpha I’ve ever met, and a fucking Omega.”

Adams then pushed right past Wilson and Gene, making a point to pump into both of their shoulders, and started to scout ahead. Wilson and Gene shared a look before they followed after Adams.

 

* * *

 

If anyone asked, Dick would say the jump went just about as well as could be expected. While mostly everyone seemed to miss their dropzones by several kilometers, just having one ally around seemed to be the difference between life and death, even if that one ally was a Beta from Able.

Soon enough, to his relief, more Easy men started to appear out of bushes and railroad tracks, and his party of two turned into a party of nine, increasing their odds of surviving the night. But as the night dragged on into morning, with only one confrontation behind them, Dick was losing hope of finding the one Easy member who was supposed to be by his side from the beginning.

After hours of walking through open fields and wetland, with no signs of German activity in sight, Dick finally felt it safe to ask the question that’s been on his mind since he’s landed.

Not wanting to start a panic, Dick leaned towards the closest Easy man, which happened to be Lipton, and whispered, “Any sign of Roe out there?”

“Doc?” Lipton questioned, worry evident in his voice. Unfortunately, his voice was just above a whisper, causing Guarnere, Toye, Malarkey, and Popeye to look their way at the sound of their lost medic.

Lipton gave the four Alphas a quick look before turning back towards Dick.

“With all due respect, sir,” Lipton started with a hint of anger and frustration, “but wasn’t he in your plane?”

“Doc’s missing?” Malarkey spoke from the back. If Dick had the ability to sense the company’s feelings, he was sure concern and anxiety would be emitting from all four of them.

“Hmph,” Dick heard Guarnere scoff, “first he sits there while we’re bustin’ our asses killin’ Germans, and now he’s sayin’ he don’t even know where the company’s goddamn Omega is.”

“He didn’t even have a weapon. What’s he gonna do? Shout at them?” Toye responded, completely ignoring the second statement.

“Shouts at me for killing Krauts..”

“He just wanted you to wait for his command.”

“Joe, he don’t even drink.”

Normally Dick wouldn’t let such talk get the better of him. He was a Lieutenant, a leader, and while it was important to respect the men who were higher in rank than you, Dick couldn’t even count the number of times he and Lew have talked about Sobel and Sink when they knew no one was listening.

Still, Guarnere’s comments seemed to go past questioning his abilities as a Lieutenant. What he really seemed to be going for is his potential role as Head Alpha. One of the duties of a Head Alpha is to look out for the Pack Omega, while the Pack Omega is taking care of everyone else. Dick had a chance to do that, but when it came time to jump, Dick became a soldier first, and an Alpha second.

So while the fact that Gene was missing, and Dick had no idea where he was, reflected badly on him as a Head Alpha, he knew that he would just have to remind them all that Gene wasn’t as helpless as they sometimes portrayed him to be.

“He probably hooked up with someone else from Easy, and is already at the meet up point,” he directed his response towards Lipton, but loud enough for the others to hear him, “Roe’s strong and resourceful, we’ll see him soon enough.”

“I sure hope so, sir.” Lipton responded, leaving the rest of the hike to Causeway Two in silence, except a “Who’s Roe?” from Hall, and a “Shut up, Cowboy.” from Guarnere.

 

* * *

 

It took about half an hour to make it to the road. Gene thought that they could have made it in a shorter amount of time, but they did stop for every noise, and the darkness made it extremely hard to tell a tree from a German’s silhouette.

However, it did become increasingly easier to see the longer they walked, as the sun started to poke itself above the horizon.

It took an hour of walking before the silence was broken by planes jetting across their heads.

“What the fuck was that?” Adams shouted while pointing his weapon towards the sky.

“It’s the Navy,” Wilson responded with a bit of hostility in his voice. Gene could tell he still wasn’t over their almost fight back in the forest, “the landings must be starting.”

“Well that’s just fucking perfect!” Adams spat out, “We have no idea where the fuck we are, and we can’t even do what the fuck we were sent here to do!”

“Well standing around and whining about it isn’t going to do us any good!”

“What’d you say to me?”

Gene could practically feel the Alpha pheromones rolling off of the two, and the last thing they needed was a full out brawl between them.

“If you guys don’t shut up now, this place will be crawlin’ with Germans in seconds!” he harshly whispered to them. He was a little surprised that they actually did stop yelling at each other, and instead switched to intense glaring.

“Our main objective right now is to find our companies, and regroup. To do that, we need ta find out where this road is leadin’ us.”

The two Alphas continued to have their stare off, making Gene worry that they’d be stuck standing in the middle of the road just waiting for Germans to pick them off.

To his surprise, it was actually Adams that backed off first.

“I don’t take orders from Omegas,” he scoffed, but continued walking.

Wilson backed down right after Adams moved away. He casted the taller Alpha one more glare, before turning towards Gene sheepishly.

“Sorry about that, I don’t know what came over me.”

Gene glanced at him, but started to catch up to Adams, “It’s ok, just make sure to keep it in check next time.”

He saw out of the corner of his eye Wilson nodding, and they continued their trek in silence once again.

They continued that way for another couple hours, Wilson at some point passing Adams, and becoming lead scout, while Adams took up the rear, and Gene in the middle.

At some point, Gene left his spot to trail next to Adams, and with better lighting from the sun, he noticed something strange running down the Alpha’s cheek

“Where’d you get that scar?” he asked before he was able to stop himself.

Adams scoffed, “Like you don’t fucking know, Omega.”

“Know what?” he tilted his head in confusion, which seemed to piss the Alpha off even more.

“Don’t pull that cutesy crap with me!” Adams spoke louder than intended, and quickly made sure Wilson wasn’t paying attention before dropping his voice into a whisper, “You may have all of these Alphas wrapped around your pretty little fingers, but I know how Omegas really operate. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you sleep with Alphas in other companies. But still, sicking Lieutenant Speirs on us just shows how weak you really are.”

“I didn’-”

“Save it.” Adams leaned in closer, and gave Gene a dangerous smile. One of his hands left his gun to run it along Gene’s face, “So pretty. I should have made you my bitch when I had the chance.”

“I found a sign!” Wilson shouted from up front. Adams smirked at Gene, arrogant that he got the final words in.

Gene felt an anger and frustration well up inside him that he hasn’t felt in a long time. At that moment, he wished more than anything that he had some sort of weapon. But he also knew it wasn’t the time nor place to act on those feelings. He’d be rid of Adams soon enough, and back with Easy.

Gene made his way towards the two Alphas, both trying to read off of the French sign.

“Bea...Beavase? Buvees?”  

“ _ Beauvais _ .” Gene interrupted Wilson’s rambling, “I recognize it from the map. It’s a town, but you’re right, we’re in the wrong dropzone.”

“What does that mean?” Adams asked uncharastically tame.

“It means we’re on the right track. If we take this road until it splits, and then turn on a crossroad, we should be where we’re meant to be.”

“How long?” Wilson asked this time

Gene shrugged, “I don’t have a map on me, but I’d say about two hours if we pick up the pace, and don’t run inta any problems.”

“Then let’s fucking move already,” and Adams, already back to his old self, started moving again.

“Jeez, that guy has issues,” Wilson whispered to Gene, “How do you even know someone like that?”

“We...had a run in on the ship.”

Wilson looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but Gene wasn’t ready to open that can of worms, well, ever again.

“Come on, we have a long walk ahead of us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> German translations:
> 
> Halt!- Stop!
> 
> Hebt die Hände in die Luft!- Raise your hands in the air!


	11. Day of Days 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confrontations, tweaking the timeline a bit and something big happens at the end!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No disrespect is meant towards any of the real men of Easy Company. This is based off of the HBO series, plus my own mind.
> 
> I hope all of your summers have been wonderful so far, and that you're doing a lot of exciting things (whether it's camping, amusement parks, or just reading an awesome new story)!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter! Not as long as the last wait, but still a pretty long wait, so I apologize. But the ball is starting to roll now! 
> 
> Tinallie helped me so much with this chapter, and just with this story in general, and I am so grateful for her! Thank you so much for always being there for me, girl!!!
> 
> If you guys have a chance, check out her new story, because it's amazing! Still Band of Brothers, still full of hurt/comfort and mystery, but now add a lot more action, and some fantasy twists! And BabeRoe!
> 
> Thank you for all of the support! I'll respond to comments soon, but for now, enjoy!

Despite encouraging them to pick up the pace, Gene felt like their little group was moving slower than ever. Not that it was their fault. Ever since the Navy arrived more and more Germans were seen taking the roads toward the beaches and they were forced to quickly duck into the cover of the forest. There were times where Wilson and Adams were able to take out a couple of Krauts walking along and move the bodies out of sight, but when it was a whole wagon of them there was no way they could take all of them. 

There were a couple of close calls, especially for Gene. Without a weapon on hand all Gene had to defend himself was the red cross printed on the side of his med bag and sometimes that didn’t even work. However, he always had a fail safe of the Omega symbol on the side of his helmet. While it irritated him a bit that his sex gave him an unequal advantage over the others, it had proven to save him a couple of times.

Gene vaguely remembered being debriefed with the other Omegas before they were even given tasks in the army that the Americans were the only country allowing Omegas to fight in the war. This meant that any Axis Power would be confused to see one on the battlefield and allowed for opportunities. The word  _ distraction _ came up and Gene had soured at the thought. Thankfully, Easy Company didn’t see Gene the same way some other companies saw their Omegas.

In any case, they had been lucky. They had managed to avoid serious conflicts and despite the animosity between them, Adams and Wilson worked swiftly together to eliminate the danger ahead of them where they could. Snide comments were ignored in lieu of taking out a German quicker than the other.

Wilson would cut ahead, an attempt at claiming leadership of the group. Adams would mutter something unsavory under his breath and pull Gene slightly off path to a dead stop. Wilson would be forced to stop, wait for Adams to give the all clear to go and cut ahead again. Gene didn’t have time to be annoyed, far too focused on listening close for any sign of the enemy. Somehow, it worked out.

But things couldn’t stay peaceful forever.

The two hours Gene had estimated had gone and passed, leaving them all antsy. What was a German or two every mile became every half a mile. It became more difficult to catch them off guard and the tension between Adams and Wilson had started to grow. Gene feared for the moment when it snapped.

“Are we getting any fucking closer?”

And there it was. Adams pulled at Gene again, until they were stopped. He came just a bit too close, leering at Gene distrustfully.

“If we’re not careful, we could get spotted at any time,” Gene pointed out, but he refused to pull back at all.

“You said two hours! By this point, we’ve missed the whole fucking invasion!”

“Keep your goddamn voice down!” Wilson yelled almost just as loud.

“Look who’s fucking talking you Alpha wanna-be!”

“I’m a better Alpha than you’ll ever be!”

“That’s not what your virgin scent is saying, you pansy!”

“You don’t even know what you’re talking about!”

“I don’t even need my nose to tell! You’re so pathetic, you couldn’t even please an Omega if you fucking drugged ‘em!”

“Sounds more like something you would do!”

“Why you piece of shit — ”

“If you guys don’t shut your mouths right now,” Gene hissed, an attempt to get through to the knot-headed Alphas, “someone’s gonna notic — ”

“Wer ist da?!”

“Amerikaner!”

Gene turned around to see two Germans running towards them, guns at the ready.

“Shit!” Adams shouted as he fumbled with his M-1, but it was too late and the Germans already opened fire.

Adams was immediately hit twice. Gene saw his whole body collapse as blood spurted from his knee and shin.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Wilson had his gun at the ready and managed to strike one of the Germans in the chest, but he was not fast enough to dodge the bullet from the second German, which struck him directly in his upper right stomach.

Just like Adams, Wilson dropped like a sack of flour, blood already pouring out of his wound.

There was so much for Gene to register at the moment. He could hear Wilson’s groans and cries while Adams was yelling to his left, hands hovering over his injured leg. The last German left had his gun trained on Gene, not seeming to register that he was a medic or Omega.

The first shot missed Gene as he dropped onto the ground. The German was still far enough away that he wasn’t completely accurate, but he was quickly moving forward. Gene took the opportunity to army crawl towards the closest body which happened to be Wilson.

“Hang on, kid,” Gene murmured as he lifted the gun up and over Wilson’s head.

“N — not a-a-a k — kid,” Wilson answered between pained gasps. The words caused Gene’s chest to tighten, as a sense of deja vu washed over him. He remembered the same words being spoken by a bright eyed, young, Alpha on a ship heading towards a place he shouldn’t have been in the first place.

Gene knew Omegas weren’t supposed to handle guns, and if Wilson or Adams told anyone he could be dishonorably discharged from the army and separated from Easy forever. But that was even if Adams and Wilson were coherent enough to remember this, or if they’d be getting out of this at all.

Because Omegas were never supposed to shoot anything anyways, Gene was never taught how to during training. The first bullet missed by a good yard, the second getting closer, but still not stopping the assault.

Gene could feel his heart beating in his chest, as he tried one more time. He took careful aim, trying to remember exactly what Shifty taught him when they were all the way back in Toccoa, having a friendly moment between lessons.

He felt like he would do anything to have Shifty there with him right now.

It was in that moment, that the warm feeling he felt on the plane returned. His mind seemed to open up, and his soul felt like it was trying to bring someone in. Hesitance filled his heart, and he knew it wasn’t his, but realization followed soon after.

A million emotions came after, worry and relief being the most prominent, and they were all covered by a sense of Virginian soft spoken kindness.

_ ‘Shifty,’ _ Gene realized, and began to open his heart even more,  _ ‘I need your help.’ _

Gene began to focus on the one memory again, Shifty and Gene standing close together under the hot Georgia sun, Shifty pointing out the basic functions of his weapon, and telling stories of hunting with his father back in Virginia.

The link was weak, but Shifty must have gotten the idea of what Gene was asking of him, because Gene was soon filled with so much focus, it was if his vision wasn’t even his own anymore. It was like it was Shifty’s.

His finger moved towards the trigger almost unconsciously, the whisper of a memory of Shifty saying  _ ‘Keep both eyes open,’  _ rang through his head. He carefully took aim one more time, feeling like Shifty was practically holding the gun right next to him. He pulled the trigger, just as the German pulled his. As if in slow motion, Gene watched the bullet leave the barrel, and move through the air, before hitting the German right in the center of his forehead.

With adrenaline still pumping in his veins, Gene didn’t even realize the warm stream of copper liquid traveling down his right arm, until the throbbing, burning pain of having a bullet lodged in one’s arm hit him full force.

Shifty’s feelings still vibrated throughout his body, but without the pack bond it felt more like a subtle humming. Still, Gene could tell that Shifty knew something was wrong, and that whoever he was with was trying to connect with him too.

_ ‘Thanks, Shifty,’  _ Gene sent through the small bond that the formed, and broke it off, closing both his mind and his soul from everyone else.

He suddenly felt exhaustion creep up on him. He hadn’t gotten any rest since the jump, he didn’t think anyone had, but that combined with blood loss was starting to make his head spin.

Still, he knew he couldn’t pass out now. Germans could be swarming the area in minutes. As he looked at the bodies of the men who’ve gotten him this far during this invasion, he remembered exactly why he joined the paratroopers.

Ignoring the discomfort in his bicep, Gene made his way over to Adams body first, and started to drag him into the cover of the woods, ignoring his constant moans and swearing. He then went back to get Wilson, feeling slightly panicked when he noticed the amount of blood surrounding the young Alpha.

While keeping a lookout, Gene looked over Adams first, accessing the damage.

“My fucking leg!” Adams gritted his teeth, trying to keep his screams in check.

Gene saw that his knee cap was completely shattered by the bullet, and the one on his shin must have fractured when hitting the bone, but both bullets missed important arteries.

_ ‘Sulfa, morphine, bandage,’  _ Gene repeated in his head, and quickly got to work.

“You’re gonna be fine, Adams.”

“Yeah right!” Adams shouted, and then again as Gene tightened the bandage.

Knowing the Dog company Alpha was stable for the moment, Gene moved on to his most critical patient.

Wilson was laying on his back, tiny gasps mixed with grunts and sobs escaped his mouth as his hands shook above his stomach.

“Shhh, Wilson,” Gene tried to calm the other down, “Ya gonna be fine. It ain’t that bad.”

“I - it h-h-urts G — Gene,” Wilson tried to get out through clenched teeth.

“I know, I know. I’m gonna give ya morphine in a second, I have to look at it, though, ok? I just need ta look.”

Wilson looked up at Gene with nothing but pain and fear in his eyes, and then moved his hands ever so slightly, so Gene could start cutting off his shirt.

Immediately once the piece of fabric fell away, Gene felt his hope twindle even further. While accessing the wound, Gene realized only that much blood could be caused from hitting a major organ or artery, and from the position of the bullet hole, it seemed to have hit his liver.

“I-it’s bad i-i-sn’t it.”

“You’re gonna be fine, Wilson, jus’ focus on my voice,” Gene tried to soothe the young Alpha, while pouring sulfa on the wound and injecting the morphine. After that, he put his hands down on Wilson’s stomach, and started to apply pressure, “That feel betta? Come on, Wilson, I need ya to answer me!”

Whimpers were the only sound able to escape past the dying kid’s lips, but were soon followed by little mumbles that became more audible with each passing second.

“ — don’t wanna die, Gene. I-I don’t w-wanna d — die.”

“You are not gonna die!”

But Gene knew the expression on his face must have betrayed him, because more tears started streaming down the kid’s face — _ barely even 18 _ .

“I-I w-anna g-go home. I want m-my m-momma.”

Wilson began to gasp heavily, as if he wasn’t getting enough air in, causing more blood to pool around Gene’s fingers.

“I-I want. I w-want.”

His hand slowly rose up and started patting at his breast pocket. Remembering what was in there, Gene removed one hand to reach into the pocket, and pulled out the letter from the Omega in Australia.

“I’m gonna make sure he gets a response, Wilson, don’t you worry about that. Just focus on me, okay?”

Wilson moves his head slightly in what Gene thinks is a nod, and let’s his hand drop back down to his side.

“I’m scared, Gene.”

Gene could feel his heart break as the words reminded him of his little brothers when they were younger. During storms, they would huddle with Gene in his bed, muttering the same exact words. Gene would do to Wilson exactly what he would do for his own kid brothers in those situations.

“I know, Thomas,” he remembered the Alpha’s first name, “it’s gonna be okay.”

He lifted his hands off the wound, and instead brought them to wrap around the Alpha’s body, resting his head on his lap.

“Just relax now, okay? There’s no need ta worry.”

Just like he did back home with his siblings, Gene started opening up his soul to Wilson, letting his intertwine with Gene’s. Through that, Gene felt a small bond attach to the kid’s soul, not as strong as a family or pack bond, but strong enough to get the job done.

“You’re gonna be fine, Thomas, just listen to my voice. That’s it.”

The Alpha’s sobs began to calm down, his eyelids drooping as Gene continued to pour into him a sense of calmness.

“You can close your eyes, it’s okay, Thomas, it’s okay.”

Gene felt a hand loosely grip some of his pants, before coming to a stop on the ground. He locked eyes with the Alpha one more time as the life drained out of it, and finally resting on a fixed glaze directed toward the sky.

Gene’s heart shattered into a million pieces.

At least, that’s what it felt like. His chest tightened, a pain so deep inside of him that it could only be something more than physical pain. His eyes watered. He wanted to cry, but he couldn’t seem to make them spill over. He wanted to scream, but the lump in his throat was preventing him to do so.

Most of all he wanted to say  _ sorry _ .

_ Sorry  _ for not saving him _. Sorry  _ for not being able to do the one thing he jumped from a plane for.  _ Sorry  _ for the kid not being able to go home to his mom.  _ Sorry  _ that he couldn’t write his Omega back.

The blood began to soak through Gene pants, his fingers sticky from the crimson substance loaded on them.

But there was one thing he was able to do for Wilson. Even though the kid was crying his eyes out, nearly hysterical, Gene was able to use his Omegan nature to calm him down and send him off peacefully. It still broke him to see someone so young die so soon, but it wasn’t like he let him go feeling alone. Because Gene was right there with him. He felt Wilson’s fears like a hurricane in his head and he was able to counter it with his own nature of caring.

It was something Gene thought he would never have to do in war, but now that he has, Winters’ words all that time ago seemed to make so much more sense.

_ ‘The bond won’t hinder you, Gene. It just might make you a better medic.’ _

He wanted to help his company. He wanted to get each and every one of them through this war. But if he couldn’t, and his skills as a medic failed him, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to use his Omega skills to let them go with some peace.

Gene pocketed the letter given to him by Wilson, gently closed his eyes, and muttered a prayer under his breath. He didn’t want to leave the young Alpha there, to be pick pocketed by Germans and left to rot in some random forest in France, but he knew it was not realistic to bring him all the way back to the meet up point with them, especially with both he and Adams being injured.

On cue, his bicep started throbbing again and intense pain radiating from the bullet wound to up and down his arm. He couldn’t leave it like that, unless he wanted to lose an arm to infection. He sat himself down to lean against the trunk of a tree, ignoring Adams’s curious stare as he took out his supplies. He put the strap of his bag between his teeth to quiet the screams that were sure to come.

He first took his scissors to cut the sleeve and reveal the wound. He picked up his canteen, pouring water gently over the inflicted area, flinching as it made contact with his skin. He then took a knife, and a pair of tweezers to start digging for the bullet. It probably took more time than it would have if he was doing it on someone else, but his arm kept involuntarily flinching away from the tools. Sweat poured down his forehead when he pulled the bullet out, and his hands were shaking when he applied the sulfa. Not wanting to waste morphine on himself, Gene took a clean white bandage out of his bag, replacing the strap in his mouth with this white cloth. He wrapped it tightly around his bicep, cutting the bandage quickly, and tying it with his teeth and one good hand. It was looser than he would normally want, but it would have to do.

Finished with his work, Gene hestantly stood up, feeling even dizzier than before, but was able to make his way towards Adams.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Adams questioned him as Gene reached for his arm.

“We’re gettin’ outta here.”

“Yeah right! Your arm is fucking useless, and my leg is shot to shit!

“Well we can’t stay here,” Gene didn’t stop tugging the Alpha up, Adams given a sudden yell when the motion caused his leg to move. Despite his protests, he still leaned his body against Gene’s, wrapping one arm around Gene’s shoulder.

“I weigh twice as much as you without putting all of my deadweight against you,” Adams panted out, “What makes you think you can carry both of us all the way to the dropzone?”

“I’ve gone through worse at Toccoa,” which was a lie, Gene’s never remembered being so tired and being in so much pain before. But he just closed his eyes and pictured Easy all smiling at him during meals, Webster's pointless facts, Luz’s stupid sense of humor. His soul reached out to all of them, and even though the link was barely even there, he could still feel their presence in his heart, and from the amount of surprise and joy that filled his mind, he knew they somewhat felt him there too.

Feeling strength form from the small bond, Gene was able to take a couple steps forward, Adams limping next to him. A couple steps turns into a few more and soon they were back on the road, leaving Wilson and the comfort he brought to Gene behind.

 

* * *

 

If Gene thought they were moving at a slow pace before, the pace they were moving now was almost torturous. That could also be taken in a literal sense as well. Every step tugged painfully on his bandaged arm, which was becoming more and more soaked in blood as time went on.

Adams was right, too (which he will never admit again in his life). Acting like a crutch for the Dog company private was like dragging an extra 250 pounds. Gene knew that Toccoa tried to prepare him for something like this, but carrying a sack of sand up and down Currahee was nothing like supporting a real person.

Adams himself did not speak a word since they started walking, which Gene counted as a blessing in itself. He did feel a bit guilty, though, since he could see how much pain each step caused him. But they couldn’t stop as much as Gene would like to. They already lost daylight hours ago, and they still had to worry about quickly ducking into the woods to avoid Germans who crossed their path.

But Gene was willing to keep going as long as he had to if it meant seeing Easy again.

So despite the blinding pain that shot down his arm with every step, the groans coming from Adams’s mouth whenever he stumbled, and the constant fear of being killed on foreign land, Gene walked on.

They continued like that until light peaked over the horizon once again. Gene felt like he was going to collapse, and Adams was basically already dead on his feet. They’ve been walking for hours, with no rest in between, except to duck in the woods from time to time. But he knew their trek was coming to an end. He can feel it in his gut, a pull to something, and it was becoming stronger and stronger, until finally, the forest broke, and a town was seen ahead.

“We’re almost there, Adams, we just have a little more to go, hold on.”

Adams just gave a grunt in response as Gene readjusted his grip on the man’s arm over his shoulder.

The farther they went down the road, Gene could see Americans wandering the town up ahead, but they were such a mix of regiments and companies, he couldn’t pinpoint  anyone he would know.

“Look at these guys.”

“Hey, are you okay?”

The voices seemed distant to Gene, he was too focused on finding only one company.

_ ‘Please God, just let them be here, that’s all I’m askin’.’ _

For a split moment, Gene feared the worst. Maybe Gene got it wrong, that this wasn’t the right meet up point at all. Maybe they were still out their, being hunted down. Maybe they were already done, and Gene was too late. Maybe they were dead…

Gene shook his head in denial. He wouldn’t be feeling this pull if they weren’t still alive. So he ignored the looks until he finally found himself in the middle of town, and familiar voices reached his ears.

“Well look who decided to show up, Floyd!”

Gene immediately felt something relax deep in his chest.

_ ‘Luz’ _

“I thought we would never find you guys.”

_ ‘Talbert.’ _

“Hey, Tab, get a load of this. You like that?”

_ ‘Liebgott’ _

“My luger’s gonna put you all to shame when I get it.”

_ ‘Hoobler.’ _

He could feel it in his soul. They were all there. They were all safe. He could finally relax. He found them. His pack.

“Hey, did you guys feel that… feeling while you were out there?”

“You mean that link? Sure did, but Shifty felt something stronger last night. You feel it too, then?”

“It seems like every Easy man that has come in felt it. You think it has something to do with the bond?”

“I don’t know, but it did have something to do with Doc. I hope he’s okay-”

“Jesus Christ, Roe?!”

In an instant, Gene felt hands on his shoulders, on his arms, checking him over. The familiar voices calming him in a way he thought he’d never feel again.

“Someone get Pepping!” Martin shouted.

“I’m on it!” someone that sounded more like Dukeman responded.

“Hey, Doc,” Talbert was suddenly in his vision, “you okay?”

It could have been the blood loss, or the exhaustion, but it took him awhile to register exactly what Talbert asked.

“Just a little tired is all.”

Talbert gave a little laugh at that, and clapped a hand against his good arm, “I bet. Pepping’s on his way.”

“Who the hell is this?” Liebgott asked while sniffing the air around Adams.

“He’s from Dog Company,” Roe responded while being directed towards a monument where the rest of what looked like first platoon were sitting, “He was shot twice in the leg, I need ta-”

“Holy shit, is that Adams?” an unfamiliar voice rang through the air, causing Gene to focus on a group of men standing behind the Easy Alphas currently surrounding him.

When Gene got a good look at them, he realized that he did know some of them. While three of the Dog Company men were looking at them confused, two of them were looking with wide eyed fear and shock. They were a part of the group that attacked Gene that one night.

Gene knew he should feel anger, resentment,  _ something  _ towards the Alphas, but Adams had serious wounds, and he was a medic first and foremost.

But before Gene could call out to them to help, Adams, who Gene thought was out like a light, began to squirm. It didn’t take long for him to realize that he was trying to struggle out of Gene’s grip.

“Fucking let me go already!” Adams shouted while trying to push Gene away. Gene only used what little strength he had to clamp on tighter. He furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to promptly order Adams to hold still, but winced when an elbow caught him in the ribs.

“What the hell’s your problem, pal!” Liebgott shouted.

“Adams,” Gene tried to reason with the struggling Alpha, pushing his pain aside, “you need to calm down-”

“I don’t need a fucking Omega’s help!” Adams finally growled in his face, and pushed Gene away. Unfortunately, he caught Gene right over his wound. Gene crumpled immediately, all strength gone. Pain overrode all senses and when he blinked the spots from his eyes he looked at Adams, panting in the dirt next to him and realized what lied behind the scathing glare.

Adams was embarrassed of Gene. An Omega had to carry him into town--into safety. His precious Alpha pride had been on the line when his knot-head friends came wandering about.

“Oh, you’ve asked for it now!” Liebgott took a step towards the snarling soldier, but was immediately blocked by Adams’ buddies from Dog.

“Move the fuck out of the way,” Liebgott threatened again.

“Tch, I thought Easy would have more fuckin’ manners,” One of the Dog members responded, cracking his knuckles.

“Yeah, you’re about ta see how fuckin’ polite we can be,” Perconte spoke up, the other men of Easy gathering around.

“What the hell is going on over here?” came a shout that sounded like Lieutenant Welsh, but Gene’s mind was still fuzzy from the pain in his arm. That didn’t stop him from recognizing Luz’s face when it came into focus in front of him.

“Why didn’t you say you were hurt, Doc?”

“It’s nothing,” Gene grunted. He then took Luz’s offered hand to help pull himself up.

“That sure don’t look like nothing,” Shifty’s soft Virginian accent was on his other side, trying to see past his bloody bandage, “Is that what happened when we…”

“Yes,” Gene interrupted, knowing Shifty was talking about when they bonded for a brief moment during the shootout on the road, “But I’ve handled it.”

“It doesn’t hurt to check.”

Gene looked up, only to see Pepping walking towards them. The Beta medic’s eyes first landed on the most critically wounded.

“Two bullet wounds,” Gene automatically started listing Adams’s injuries, “One shattered his knee cap, the other hitting the shin. Too many fragments. I couldn’t get ‘em all out.”

Pepping nodded, “Take him to the aid station,” he directed the Dog soldiers, but quickly turned his attentions back to Gene.

“Let’s see what we have here.”

Pepping gently grabbed the Omega’s arm and started to unwrap the bandages, not caring about the audience of Easy members gathering around.

“I took care of it already,” Gene spoke and weakly tugged his injured arm away, “You should go back ta the aid station. Adams’ injuries were pretty serious.”

“It’s not him I’m worried about.”

Gene didn’t have to look up to see Pepping’s eyes boring into his person. He felt it, just like how he felt the eyes of the rest of first platoon on him.

“You cleaned it well,” Pepping spoke again, interrupting Gene’s thoughts, “But it’s still bleeding sluggishly. It’ll need stitches.”

Gene shook his head, “I can’t. I have to see Lieutenant Winters.”

He could tell from the silence that they were all shocked from his words, but he was not about to explain himself now. He had to get to Lieutenant Winters. It was like a deep need in his chest. But when he tried to push himself up, Pepping only tightened his grip on his arm. Gene looked up to snap at him, because he didn’t get it, none of them did, but what he saw made him stop.

There was a small smile on Pepping’s face, and his eyes were warm with care and understanding. When he looked around him, everyone had the same look. Luz and Perconte were basically jumping up and down with excitement. People like Smokey, Martin, and Talbert were just looking down at him with fond smiles. Even Liebgott had his usual smug smirk, but this time it wasn’t filled with any malice.

For the first time, Gene realized how long they’ve actually been waiting for this.

“He had a meeting with Colonel Sink,” Lieutenant Welsh spoke up, trying and failing to reel in the excitement in his voice, “But I’m sure he’s out of it by now. He might be in his quarters, right over there.”

Gene looked at the building Welsh was pointing at and nodded. He stood up with the help of Pepping’s, but before he could walk away, Pepping’s tugged on his arm.

“You get that fixed up right afterwards, you hear me?”

Gene smiled, “Yeah, I hear you.”

Pepping returned the smile and lightly pushed Gene in the right directions. As Gene began to walk, the crowd of first platoon split for him, smiles still spread across all of their faces. At seeing this, Gene felt a shot a guilt and happiness go through him at the same time. It dawned on him how long Easy has been waiting for Gene to be ready to solidify the bond, bringing them closer.

But there was no more hesitation in Gene’s steps. He knew what he was doing was the right decision for, not only the company, but for him as well. Winters has been a great leader from the beginning, and having him lead them would surely get more men home and alive.

Just as he was about to open the door to the sleeping quarters, he heard Perconte shout out, “What the hell are we standing here for, we gotta tell the others!”

Gene just shook his head, and closed the door behind him.

Because it was the morning, officers were mostly outside with their companies, leaving the building mostly empty. But Gene knew Winters was in there, and not because Welsh told him so. It was like something was physically pulling Gene towards him, and he followed that feeling until he stood in front of a wooden door.

He heard the unmistakable muffled voices of  Lieutenant Winters and Nixon inside. Gene stood there for a moment and listened to the back and forth conversation. He couldn’t believe what he was about to do, what was about to happen to him. He knew he shouldn’t start thinking about it, that he might freak himself out, but he couldn’t help himself. This bond would change more than just how the company functioned. Gene has always been a bit of a loner, so to go from that to having everyone’s feelings bombarding you at all times was a pretty big change. However, he knew it’s what needed to be done. Now all he had to do was raise his hand, and knock on the door.

Just lift up his hand,

And hit it against the wood.

Right.

Now-

The door flung open, and standing on the other side was one smirking Lieutenant Nixon.

“Private Roe.”

“Doc?” Winters’s voice was full of shock, but when Gene stretched his neck to see Winters sitting on a small bunk, the shock turned into relief.

“Lieutenants,” Gene hoped they couldn’t hear the shakiness in his voice, but by the way Nixon’s smirk seemed to get bigger, he knew at least he heard it.

For a moment, no one said anything. Gene’s eyes darted between Nixon and Winters, while Winters’ eyes glanced between Gene and Nixon. Nixon, however, kept his gaze on Gene with a knowing look.

“Can I speak to Lieutenant Winters, sir?” Gene finally broke the silence.

“Go ahead,” Nixon responded, and held the door open for him.

Gene took in the room, obviously a bedroom meant for a family in a different time. There were two twin beds, each on opposite sides of the room, one being covered with maps and other papers. The walls were wallpapered, with empty picture frames hanging on them. Looking at them, Gene couldn’t help but feel of pain of sadness for the people who once lived there.

In front of him, Winters stood awkwardly, obviously having some sort of idea as to why Gene sought him out. It seemed that everyone felt the small connection created in the woods.

The door shut with a loud bang to snap him out of his thoughts. Gene looked behind to see Nixon still standing in the room, smiling at the two of them.

“Um,” Gene really wasn’t prepared for these kind of situations, “can I still speak to Lieutenant Winters?”

“Of course,” Nixon waved his hand as if to give him permission.

“I think he means alone, Nix,” Winters finally spoke up since Gene appeared at the door.

Nixon looked around the room and jokingly said, “I think we’re pretty alone in here.”

“Lewis,” Winters said in his full Alpha voice, causing shivers to go down Gene’s spine.

Nixon put his hands up in surrender, “Okay, okay,” and began to walk out the door. Before he closed it all the way, however, he stuck his head in one more time to say, “Please don’t do anything on my bed,” but quickly shut it when Winters growled in warning.

When Nixon was gone, Gene just became even more conscious of what was about to happen, and felt his heart beat so loud, Winters must have heard it.

“I’m sorry about Lew-Lieutenant Nixon,” Winters walked to what must be his bed, and started to move the papers off of it, “He thought he was helping.”

When the bed was cleared, Winters gestured towards the empty space, “Please, sit.”

Gene took the offered seat with Winters sitting on the other bed across from him.

At first, neither spoke. Gene kept his eyes down on the floor, hands clasped in front of him. He felt the Lieutenant’s eyes on him, but he couldn’t make himself look up to meet them. Thankfully, it was Winters who took the first step.

“When did you get in?”

“This mornin’.”

“Did you see anyone else?”

“First platoon.”

Winters nodded, “That’s good. Some were worried about you. Including me.”

Gene finally looked up to meet the eyes of the Alpha, “Lieutenant-”

“I need to apologize, Gene,” Winters interrupted.

“Lieutenant, you don’t need ta-”

“You were supposed to be by my side out there. I was supposed to protect you,” he glanced at Gene’s bloody and sloppily bandaged arm, “and you got hurt, in more ways than one.”

Gene knew Winters was talking about Wilson’s death, and while the wound was still fresh from the events of yesterday, he couldn’t help but focus on one particular sentence.

“No offense, sir, but I can’t do my job with Alphas hoverin’ over me,” Gene and looked at Winters stubbornly, “but I think I have an idea of how ta do it better.”

Winters gave him a gentle smile, “So you’ve made your decision then.”

“I felt it out there-”

“On a small scale, though,” the Alpha got up, and walked towards a single tiny window, “do you think you’re strong enough to handle all of their emotions?”

Gene also got up, and looked out the same window as Winters. Outside he saw a majority of the company walking around, talking, laughing, joking around. He felt warmth bloom in his chest by just looking at them, and he knew that just feeling the good times like this will be worth the many hard times soon to come.

However, “Not alone,” he glanced up to look at the Lieutenant hovering slightly to his right.

They locked eyes, and Gene could already feel the link forming between them.

“Are you sure?” Winters whispered, “There are a lot of other choices out there-”

“I think I called it a long time ago,” Gene whispered back, and gave the Alpha a reassuring smile.

Winters smiled back, and slowly stepped towards Easy’s only Omega. When he was an arms length away, Gene turned around to look back out the window, where he could clearly see the rest of Easy wandering around.

_ “I know you’re a higher rank than me, but this will have to be separate from that.”  _ he said.

“It will be.”

“This is not a mating bond.”

Winters looked slightly uncomfortable at that, but laughed, “Of course it’s not. It’s a partnership.”

He felt a strong Alpha body move up behind him. One large hand grasped his arm gently, while the other tilted his head slightly, and moved down his collar. The tickling sensation of hot air being blown on his neck made shivers go down his side, as Winters sniffed along the area of the pack gland.

“Are you completely sure, Gene?” Winters asked. Gene could only let out a low hum as his instincts seemed to kick in.

Winters chuckled, “I need you to answer me in words, Doc.”

Despite being dazed, Gene had enough strength to open his eyes, and look at the company one last time.

“I’m sure.”

There was only a second of hesitation before Gene felt sharp canines sink into the flesh of his neck. At first, a burning sensation spread throughout his body, causing Gene to hiss in pain. That pain was soon forgotten, however, when a rush of emotions hit him at once. It caused him to stumble back, but Winters was there to ground him.

“You ok, Gene?”

“Yeah,” Gene nodded his head slowly, afraid that too much motion would make him pass out, “I’m fine. That wasn’t so bad.”

“Um, that was actually just me connecting with you.”

“What-”

“This might be a long day for you.”

Gene didn’t even get to answer before another wave of emotions hit him, then another, and another, until he thought his head might actually explode.

“Gene!” Winters yelled when Gene collapsed onto his knees, head cradled in his hands. Gene wanted to tell him that he was ok, that he’d get over it soon, but he knew that if he opened his mouth words were not going to be the thing coming out of it.

The pressure continued to grow behind his eyes, spreading throughout his body, like he was being stuffed with multiple people at once.

“You did well, Doc, it’s ok to pass out now.”

That sounded like a good idea.

He let the darkness wash over him, feeling the emotions lessen as he did so. But he could clearly feel everyone there, comforting him, thanking him, worrying over him, and for the first time in a long time, before even Toccoa, Gene felt safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> German Translations
> 
> “Wer ist da?!”- Who is there?
> 
> “Amerikaner!”- Americans!
> 
> Please go check out tinallie's new story "All for Love"! If you loved "En'doeuil", you'll love this, and I need someone to freak out with again!!


	12. Carentan 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gene wakes up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No disrespect is meant towards any of the real men of Easy Company. This is based off of the HBO series, plus my own mind.
> 
> What? She's updated? Is that even possible? Why yes, yes it is!
> 
> Honestly, it was not supposed to take this long to update, but I just got sidetracked with other fandoms and vacations over the summer, and took a break from BoB. And then when fall started school got in the way, as well as getting used to working after school again. But no matter how long I'm away from BoB, I always come back! And I'm always thinking about this story, so I will never ever abandon it! 
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I planned it out, but when I started writing it, it was getting so long that I just stopped it where I did. Bad news, not as much action as I promised some people. Good news, the next chapter is already planned out! 
> 
> Big thank you to tinallie!! She's been helping me so much and I'm just so grateful to have such a great writer to bounce ideas off of and edit my work! She has two amazing stories for the Band of Brothers fandom, her newest one being All for Love! The world she has created is just amazing! It's so hard to put into words because I don't want to spoil anything, but just go and read it! You won't be disappointed!
> 
> Again, you guys are so kind and awesome, thank you so much for your support! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

The first thing Gene realized when he woke up was that the room was spinning. The second he turned his head nausea crept up and he was disoriented. Nothing was worse than being unable to ground himself, lost in a topsy-turvy sea of stone, wood, and the scratchy fabric of the pillow his head rested upon.

Gene quickly closed his eyes again. With a groan, he covered his them with his hands, hoping the pressure would somehow get rid of the migraine that was forming. It didn’t.

“Headache?”

Startled, Gene turned his head in the direction of the voice. The sudden movement did not help his headache, but through squinted eyes he was able to make out Pepping in the doorway of a room he only vaguely remembered.

“What happened?” Gene asked, voice raspy and throat dry. He immediately started to cough, but in a split second, Pepping was right next to him with a glass of water.

“Here, drink it slowly. I can’t have you choking on me.”

Gene took the water and the advice gratefully, but the sudden stream of cold liquid hitting the back of his throat made him cough regardless. Pepping patted his back, trying to help him gain control of his breathing again. When his lungs stopped stuttering, Gene took the chance to look around his surroundings.

He was still in Winters’ room, but the Lieutenant was nowhere to be found. The smell of said Alpha, though, was strong, the rain scent mixing in with Pepping’s baked bread smell. Strangely enough, that wasn’t the only scent he was picking up. Gene could clearly smell the lasting scent of Nixon, like new leather and booze, and even some Alphas that weren’t ever the room. Lipton’s burning wood and Buck’s pine lingered out the window, told Gene they were right outside. Light streamed through a tiny open window on the other side of the room and it let a warm breeze blow freely past the dark curtains.

Gene last remembered the pleasant chill of morning when he first came into town. He had Adams far too close, over his shoulder as they had limped in. Then a flurry of voices as the blessed sound of American soldiers who had survived, who still drew breath and acted as a protective barrier between Gene and the enemy pushed up close and took Adams away from him. There was Pepping, he faintly remembered, there to help ferry him away from the voices and into far safer quarters. There was the wisps of Winters, of his voice close and his scent even closer, but the headache made the memory fuzzy.

“You remember what happened?” Pepping asked while putting his medics bag on the bed.

Gene shook his head, “No.” and asked, “What day is it?”

Pepping followed his gaze to the window, “It’s the 8th. You’ve been unconscious for over 24 hours.”

Huh. Well that explained why his body felt so heavy and sluggish, why his skin felt so hot and tight. He hasn’t taken his suppressants in over 48 hours. Usually he has to at least take them twice a day when around so many Alphas. He knew it’d be hard to keep up with it after the jump, but he didn’t think he’d miss two days worth of suppressants.

Slowly, Gene shifted his body up the bed to sit up. However, when he put pressure on his right arm, pain immediately shot up the limb and Gene nearly collapsed back into the mattress. Pepping’s quick hands saved him from planting face first back into the pillow.

“Careful,” the Beta reprimanded him, “you’ll tear the stitches.”

_ ‘Stitches?’ _

Gene looked down, and noticed the clean bandage over his wounds. And that wasn’t the only thing. Gene realized that he had no shirt on.

He felt heat rise to his face before it probably showed. His hands twitched at the blankets covering his lower body, which thankfully, he could feel he still had pants on. But he still had half a mind to pull the blanket up to cover his chest.

Seeing Gene’s sudden embarrassment, Pepping laughed.

“Don’t worry,” Pepping said with a smile, “I was the one to take your shirt off, and no one else has been here. I hope that doesn’t disappoint you too much,” he finished with a wink.

Gene gave the other medic a halfhearted glare, but stopped once the Beta started to unravel the bandages covering the wound.

Unsurprisingly, the injury still looked fresh. A few stitches were put in to stop the bleeding, and the skin around it was red and slightly irritated. But from what Gene could tell, the area was not hot or oozing any pus, which meant no infection.

Out of what seemed like nowhere, Pepping produced a bucket of warm water and a rag to carefully clean the wound. The first touch of the wet rag caused Gene to wince, and Pepping recoiled slightly and muttered, “Sorry,” before going back at it.

The water was warm to Gene’s relief. Warm water would kill any bacteria better than cold. When Pepping was done, he carefully patted the area dry, sprinkled some more sulfa on the wound, and wrapped it back up.

“You know,” Pepping began after the short period of silence, “you should be in the hospital with a wound like this. Might even send you home.”

Gene shook his head, “There’s no point. It’s healin’ and I can function just fine with it. There’s no point in wastin’ anotha bed.”

Pepping gave a small laugh as he put his supplies away, “I told Lieutenant Winters you’d say that.”

With a slight turn, Pepping reached for something behind him before he tossed the object at him. Gene caught it with his good hand and at the touch of fabric realized it was his shirt and jacket.

“Thanks,” Gene smiled and began to slowly put the shirt on. He frowned slightly when he noticed the brown marks at the bottom of the shirt, and his stomach dropped when he realized what it was.

Upon seeing Gene’s face fall, Pepping looked down at the shirt. When he saw the stains, his own expression turned grim.

“Sorry about that Gene; we didn’t have any time to clean your clothes, or find any new clothes for you.”

Gene shook his head, “It’s fine,” and finished buttoning up the shirt. He then pulled his jacket on and pointedly ignored the blood stains littering the fabric. He knew some of it was his and some of it was Adams’. But a majority of it was from Wilson, and that thought alone caused Gene’s heart to clench. His hand moved to his jacket pocket to see if the letter was still there and to his relief, it was. Gene promised himself that the first thing he’d do when (if) he got back to England was to mail that letter. He owed Wilson at least that much.

Suddenly, Gene felt something nudge his arm and it snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked over and saw Pepping offer a chocolate bar with kind, outstretched hands.

“Here, it’ll make you feel better.”

Gene took the candy and gave Pepping a blank look. They were both told during training that sugar would keep the moral of men up. He didn’t know if that was true, but if it was, the candy bar was better used on someone else. So he pocketed it, much to the disappointment of his colleague.

“My suppressants,” Gene finally brought up.

A confused look crossed Pepping’s face, “What?”

“I need my suppressants.”

Despite it just being medication, Gene still felt embarrassed having to ask for them. Thankfully, Pepping understood him the second time, if the realization on his face was anything to go by. The Beta took a whiff of the air, and with a blush, realized Gene was going into pre-heat.

“Oh yeah! One second.”

He began rummaging in Gene’s own medic bag, which was carefully placed on top of a dresser.

It took a moment for Pepping to find the small tin box holding the pills. Even in the seconds it took to for the other medic to find them and hand them over had Gene’s heart rate skyrocketing. The fear of losing his suppressants, either in a jump of just by sheer bad luck during a march was constantly there. He’d thought too hard and long about the consequences of such a misfortune.

“Here you go,” Pepping practically sauntered back to Gene’s bedside, and handed him the small box like it was a prize he’d won for an Omega at the county fair.

“Thanks,” Gene responded. He opened up the lid and stared at the small white capsules, picked two, and popped them in his mouth. He reached for the glass of water that was left on the nightstand, and downed the two pills without any hesitation.

Pepping, however, squirmed uncomfortably next to him, “Aren’t you only supposed to take one of those at a time?”

Gene shrugged, “It depends,” but Pepping was right. Taking multiple pills at once could lead to some complications in the future if done on a regular bases, but it’s been two days since Gene has been able to take even one, and he could already feel the symptoms of heat coming on. No matter what, Gene couldn't let that happen. Not only would it leave him vulnerable to any Alphas in the area (which there were many), but it would also put the company at risk if they were to stay put and protect him. So even if it was unhealthy, Gene would take a thousand of those pills if it meant staying in control of those urges.

“So how do you feel?” Pepping interrupted his thoughts. When Gene looked over, he seemed to be bouncing in his chair, his foot tapping nonstop.

“Fine. Little sore, but that’s to be expected with ma arm.”

Pepping only hummed thoughtfully at the info, but he still seemed to be waiting for something else. Not knowing what else to do, Gene just stared back at him.

Probably realizing that Gene had no idea what else he wanted, Pepping leaned forward in his chair.

“And… and the bond?”

Gene looked up in confusion, “What bon-”

And then it all came back.

The meeting with Winters, the words exchanged between them, the loosely based trust, the bite, the emotions… the pain.

It all seemed so surreal, so unlike him, that he started to think it was all a dream. That maybe Pepping was talking about something else, and he just passed out while handing Adams over to Dog Company.

His hand inched towards the right side of his neck, his stomach clenching nervously at what he might find.

When his fingers got closer, he realized that the skin was warm, at least, warmer than the rest of his body. His mind immediately went to ‘infection’, but he didn’t feel any pain. He let his fingers hover over the area where his pack gland was. He was just a short distance away from finding out if the thing that has been giving him anxiety for over a year has finally been resolved.

Gene’s heart was beating so loud he was sure Pepping could hear it. Or could he feel it? Could they all feel what a nervous wreck he was right in that moment?

There was only one way to find out.

He let his fingers brush over the pack gland. What he felt was scabbed over teeth marks that created permanent divots in his skin. But what he  _ felt  _ was so much more than that.

Emotions suddenly bombarded his mind. He was happy, worried, tired, excited, nervous, thankful, all of the above. It was so much at once, Gene thought he was having a mental breakdown until he realized that they weren’t  _ his  _ emotions.

At least, they weren’t all his. In fact, a majority of them weren’t. But he couldn’t separate what was and what wasn’t. He couldn’t tell if he was relieved or scared. If he was stressed or calm. How could he tell what was one person thinking compared to another? There were too many of them, he couldn’t control them all!

The pain behind his eyes began to increase again, making Gene cover them with his hands again. His breathing started coming in faster and shorter periods, and he was worried. Or was he worried? Was that him or was that the others? And who exactly was it? Was it all of them, some of them, most of them? It was so hard to concentrate, his mind felt invaded, like too many people in his personal space. Nothing back home ever felt like this before. He couldn’t handle this, it was too much.

“-ene! Gene! Come on, buddy, you gotta breathe!”

Breathe? He hadn’t even noticed he stopped. He gasped while quickly trying to get air to his lungs, causing his chest to burn even more than it did. He tried again, but it just came out another gasp, and then another, and another, until soon enough, he was hyperventilating.

“Gene, you have to breathe slower, ok? Breathe with me. In...and out...in...and out…”

Gene wanted to tell Pepping that he knew how to breathe and how to deal with hyperventilation. But for some reason it was like his brain just pushed all of that information out, trying to make room for all of the emotions being thrown at him at once. But the Beta’s soothing voice was somehow pushing through all of those emotions, allowing his mind to release some of the tension he was holding.

“Now, I know this might sound weird, Gene,” Pepping started with a comforting hand on his back, “but I need you to picture your mind is like a room with a door.”

“What?” he barely got out through clenched teeth.

“Your head, there’s too much going on up there, too many people trying to push themselves onto you. You need to tell them to back off by basically closing your mind off to them. It’s the only way the pain is going to stop.”

Yeah, the pain had to go. He never knew what a migraine could feel like until this today. And while his  Grand-Mère had a remedy for one, he was pretty sure it wouldn’t work on something like this.

“R-room… a-and door?” Gene tried again to speak.

“And all of the emotions are people in that room,” Pepping began again, “Now imagine pushing them out, and closing the door.”

Push them out, close the door. Sounded easier said than done.

But despite how ridiculous it sounded, Gene began picturing all of the emotions as individual people in the room that was his mind. Looking at them, Gene realized that they were all trying to speak at once, and some were even trying to run towards him, as if to get closer to his soul (Gene sensed that to be Luz).

With as much mental force as he could muster, Gene began pushing all of the emotions out of his head, through an imaginary door like opening. Some people obviously resisted. It seemed like Guarnere and Toye, despite their standoffish behavior at times, were pretty set on staying close by. People like Randleman and Martin, who were more to themselves, were not afraid to stay pretty close to him. Then there were all of the socialites: Malarkey, Muck, Penkala, Luz, Perconte, Hoobler, Talbert, etc, seemed to be trying to break the small barrier that hid Gene’s most personal emotions. Even Winters, Nixon, and Welsh made no move to leave.

It was all becoming too much.

_ ‘You have to get out,’  _ he tried to express.

Just that thought had everyone trying even harder to get to him. Emotions like  _ no way  _ and  _ we’re not leaving _ were being thrown at him from all different directions.

His migraine intensified. But Pepping was also there, encouraging him to keep trying, and also helping to push the others back

_ ‘It hurts.’ _

With those two words, it seemed his mind became his own again. He could still feel everyone trying to crowd into his mind, but it was...quieter. But it only degraded his migraine to a headache. He still needed more space, space to himself, like it was before the pack bond.

_ ‘Please,’  _ he tried again,  _ ‘get out.’ _

He didn’t mean to sound so harsh, but he wasn’t used to people in his personal space in a normal sense, not even at home. And here were about one hundred Alphas trying to get as close to his soul as they possibly could.

However, they all seemed to listen that time, slowly inching closer and closer to the opening leading out of his mind until, finally, they were all outside. They were also all clearly still poking their heads in, trying to get as close as they could without upsetting him. Gene could clearly still feel the presence of everyone there, but it was a lot less intense than it was before. Only the lasting effects of a migraine lingered.

It was all mentally exhausting, though. He felt like he wanted to pass out all over again.

“You did really good, Gene,” he heard Pepping to his right, but it was distant sounding. He was still in the middle of his subconscious, facing the door full of Easy Alphas and Beta. He wondered what would happen if he just…

He began to close the door on them, shutting them off from his mind, but he only got a couple inches before he heard a gasp next to him, and the feeling of panic inside of him. He opened his eyes to see Pepping clenching his hand over his chest.

“A-ah, maybe you shouldn’t do that, buddy.”

Gene raised an eyebrow, the panic from the others calming down from within, “Why not?”

Pepping looked sheepishly away, “Well… you might not be able to feel this, but when you try to shut us out, it feels, well…”

Pepping began to trail off, looking for the words to describe it.

“Well?” Gene asked, growing slightly impatient from all of the unknowns with this new bond.

Pepping jumped, “Uh, well, it just… hurts.”

“Hurts?”

Pepping nodded, “It’s more than just being rejected, though. What was just formed… it’s like growing an extra limb. If you shut us out, it’d kind of like cutting that limb off.”

Gene still didn’t get it, and it must have shown on his face, because Pepping sighed.

“Look, it’s hard to explain. Just know that you’re really important to us, Gene. And losing you in any way is going to hurt like hell.”

Well, Gene guessed that made sense. But still…

“Is it gonna hurt like that everytime you guys need me, though?” Because he really didn’t think he could go through that pain everyday.

Pepping gave him a small smile, “That should be the worst it ever gets. We’re a big pack, so it’s gonna be hard to learn control. But once you do, there’s really no stopping a pack Omega. What you did with Shifty out there, you could do that with all of us. You can track us, check on us, it’s just,” he turned towards him and gave him an even bigger smile, “You’re gonna be amazing, Gene.”

Gene couldn’t help but blush at the words and turn away. He knew how much responsibility a pack Omega had. What he didn’t know was how much it meant to everyone else.

“How do ya know all this?”

Pepping scratched the back of his head and gave an awkward laugh, “Lieutenant Winters made me, well, actually me and Oates, do research before the jump. It was pretty obvious to everyone this was gonna happen eventually, and this isn’t a normal pack.”

Gene nodded. He was right. A pack made of mostly Alphas was strange enough. But a pack made out of over one hundred soldiers in the middle of war was also, while not unheard of in the history books, pretty rare. Despite feeling slightly put out that Winters would do such a Head Alpha thing before even been picked for the role, he was happy for the help. Gene definitely wouldn’t have known what to do when he first woke up.

“Where is everyone?”

Pepping shrugged, “They’re around.”

“Where’s Lieutenant Winters?”

Pepping bit his lip, “In a meeting.”

Gene narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Why wasn’t Pepping telling him anything?

“A meeting for what?”

“Don’t worry about it, Gene, just try to get some rest.”

Pepping said this while trying to get Gene to lie back down, but Gene pushed his hands away.

“You’ve neva treated me like an Omega before, Peppin’,” Gene spoke, slightly irritated, “Don’ start now.”

“Gene...” Pepping tried to reason with him, but just one look at Gene’s determined face, Pepping knew he couldn’t lie to him.

“Ugh, they’re gonna kill me for telling you.”

Gene raised his eyebrow in confusion, “Wha-”

“Nevermind,” Pepping interrupted, “Lieutenant Winters is in a meeting with Colonel Sink.”

Gene nodded his head, “Okay. What for?”

“To buy time,” Pepping continued reluctantly, “Sink wanted us moving out about two hours ago.”

That’s all Gene needed to hear before he was pushing the covers off of him and standing up. Or, at least, he tried to stand up, but the panic of knowing Winters was on his way to being court martialed for him, and the fact he was sitting upright for the first time since he passed out caused him to lose control of the bond. The emotions and migraine came back full force, and it took a lot of deep breathes and Pepping’s support to get it under control again.

_ ‘That’s gonna take some practice,’ _ he thought.

“You’re body is still weak, Gene,” Pepping spoke suddenly right next to him, “You need some time to rest.”

“Whatdya call what I’ve been doin’ for the past 24 hours?” Gene asked sarcastically while moving towards the chair that had his equipment. He moved to put the harness on over his jackets and tucked his helmet under his arm. When he went to reach for his medic bag, he found it already held out to him by Pepping.

“Here, I took the liberty of restocking it for it.”

Gene accepted the bag gratefully and made his way out of Winters’s temporary room, Pepping following close behind. He immediately took a deep breath when the hot summer breeze hit his face, taking in all of the scents around him. He pinpointed second platoon’s scents right away, and started heading towards them.

“We’ll be stretched thin for awhile, Gene,” Pepping said, “A lot of men haven’t made it here, yet… including Oates.”

“Oates?” Gene asked in shock, stopping to face Pepping directly.

Pepping nodded his head, and swallowed hard, like he was trying to get past a lump in his throat, “No one from Lieutenant Meehan’s plane has been seen and… and god, I asked to switch planes with him, Gene. What if-”

“Stop,” Gene interrupted him, feeling the guilt rolling off of the Beta in waves at the possibility of being the reason his friend was dead, “We can’t be thinkin’ like that now. There’s less of us to go around now, so we gotta be even more focused than before, ya hear me?”

Pepping nodded again and put his head down. Gene could tell he was trying to clear his mind of guilt, but was having a hard time doing it. Without even realizing he was doing it, Gene began looking inside his mind, pinpointing Pepping, and sending him waves of comfort. Pepping looked up at Gene gratefully, giving him a small smile, which Gene happily returned.

_ ‘Looks like I may be gettin’ the hang of this after all.’ _

“So if Lieutenant Meehan hasn’t shown up, who’s Easy’s CO?”

The question seemed to snap Pepping out of his daze, “Oh right, I meant to mention it before. Well, for now Lieutenant Winters is Easy’s acting CO. A more permanent solution will be made when we get back to England.”

Gene nodded in understanding, but was a bit surprised. Not so much at the fact that Winters got promoted, he was a good leader, and the obvious choice ever since Sobel left. But Gene did realize that this would be the first time he would have a different platoon leader. If his memory served him correctly, that would be Buck.

He wasn’t overly worried, though. Buck was also a natural leader and a good Alpha, even if he did get on Gene’s nerves when they first met.

“There’s first platoon,” Pepping suddenly pointed out. Gene snapped out of his thoughts and looked towards where Pepping gestured. There he could see the men of first gathering around the same statue as the day before, talking and laughing with each other.

“You should prob’ly go ta them,” Gene stated.

Pepping shook his head, “I’m walking you to Second. It’s not like they need me now.”

Gene gave him a pointed look, “You know as much as I do that Winters felt me wake up. We’re movin’ out right when I get to Second.”

Pepping pursed his lips in annoyance, but eventually let out a sigh, “Fine, then I’ll see you later, okay?”

Gene nodded, “See you later.”

He smiled softly when Luz immediately spotted Pepping and started talking a mile a minute. Gene assumed he was asking about him and made sure to get out of there before he was hounded by the Alphas of First.

However, as he’s rounding the corner, he managed to catch a glimpse of Private Albert Blithe’s face.

He never really talked to Blithe during Basic. Gene never really talked to anyone during Basic, unless it was a medical problem. Blithe was the same way: quiet and distant. But there was something else there now. He looked… lost.

Gene continued to stare at him, trying to figure the Alpha out. He knew something was bothering him, but he couldn’t pinpoint it yet with the bond. Before he could dwell on it, however, a voice called out to him.

“Hey Doc!”

Gene looked over to see Buck waving him over to the rest of second platoon. He quickly jogged over to the platoon, taking in their smiling faces as he did so. Without even using the bond, he could tell they were happy to see him, which left a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“Look who finally woke up,” Guarnere exclaimed with a shit eating smirk around a cigarette.

Gene nodded his head with a slight smile, “Guarnere.”

“Heh,” Guarnere laughed with his distinct accent and elbowed Toye in the arm, “‘Guarnere’ he says.

Toye just gave Guarnere an annoyed side eye before tipping his own head in his acknowledgement of Gene.

Gene looked around, trying to take count of the men, but stopped when he noticed someone missing.

“Where’s Wynn?”

“Got a bullet in his ass,” Guarnere answered while throwing his finished cigarette on the ground.

Gene couldn’t help the feeling of disappointment well up that he didn’t notice sooner someone from his pack missing and injured. However, he felt more relieved at hearing that Popeye was shot in such a safe place. He’d have to try to pinpoint him later.

“You feeling okay, Doc?” Lipton suddenly asked to his right. Gene could practically see the waves of worry rolling off of him, despite acting nonchalant. He immediately had a flashback of Lipton trying to reach out to him in Aldbourne, offering his help despite knowing the consequences of Sobel.

“Never better,” He tried passing a feeling of comfort to the Alpha. He may have not completely directed the emotion, but he could tell Lipton could sense him trying since he smiled and patted him on the back, Grant repeating the same gesture.

“See Penk,” Muck spoke up, “We told you he’d be fine!”

“Yeah, Doc,” Malarkey followed, “He’s been worried about you ever since the jump, even attempted to see you in Lieutenant Winters’s roo-Oof!”

“Shut up! It was your idea Muck,” Penkala whispered harshly, elbowing both of his friends in the stomach. He looked at Gene with an embarrassed flush to his face, but Gene gave him a kind smile. He was glad his pack cared enough to sneak into their CO’s room for him, albeit it would be creepy if they just stared at him sleeping. Nevertheless, he could tell just how worried the trio was for him.

“That fucking Dog asshole,” Liebgott spat out, a scowl painting is face, “If I ever see him again, I’ll hit him so hard, he’ll be shitting teeth.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Gene saw a runner walking up to the platoon and quietly speak something to Buck. Buck nodded at the message and the private ran off.

“You’re going to have to wait for that, Liebgott,” Buck spoke with an air of authority, telling the rest of the platoon to shut up and listen, “Just received orders from Lieutenant Winters, Easy’s moving out.”

“Finally,” he heard McClung whisper.

“Where to, sir?” Lipton asked.

“Carentan,” Buck answered, “it’s where armor from Omaha and Utah Beach can link and move inland. Until we take it, they’re stuck on the beaches.”

“Savin’ their asses again,” Toye’s gravely voice muttered.

“It’ll be dark soon,” Buck continued, ignoring Toye’s comment, “that means light and noise discipline. So no talking and no smoking.”

Buck looked over the platoon, making sure each of them understood the orders. When his eyes rested on Gene’s, he held his gaze. Gene could tell Buck was making sure he was fit enough to walk to Carentan.

Gene returned the stare with a determined one of his own. He hoped he passed on the message that no matter what, he was not leaving the pack.

Unknowingly, he was also sending Buck fierce protective and determined vibes through the bond, causing the Alpha to smirk. He knew no matter what he said or did, Easy’s Omega would follow them regardless.

“Let’s move out then.”

One by one, they started walking behind the Alpha, Gene fitting in the middle of them all. More hands reached out to pat Gene’s shoulders and back, almost reassuring themselves that, yes, their Omega was alive and well, and they were going to keep it that way.

Gene adjusted his medic bag, ignoring the tug on his stitches as he did so, and smirked. They could act like protective Alphas all they wanted. In the end, it was Gene’s turn to protect them.


End file.
